GOVERNOR'S HORSE GUARDS WANT STUDENTS TO 'JUST SAY NAY'

BRISTOL -- A local DARE officer involved in the First Company Governor's
Horse Guards will take his job as a role model to keep kids off of drugs
one step further next week during the annual "Just Say Nay to Drugs" camp
for Bristol elementary school students.

Mark Bernier, a private first class in the Horse Guards, organized the camp
for 12 local students as an extension of the curriculum they learned in
their fifth-grade DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) classes. The
students are from Ellen P. Hubbell, Stafford, South Side and St. Matthew's
schools.

The students were recommended for the four-day camp, which concludes with a
sleep-over, by their teachers and approved by city DARE officers. Bernier
said the children are chosen by whom might benefit the most from the
structure and adventure offered by the camp, during which the students
learn to tack, groom and ride horses.

"Think about the times you were a child and how many times you asked your
parents to go to a special camp," Bernier said. "It gives these kids the
ability to do something they would never do in their lives at no cost to
their families."

In addition to working with the horses and the Horse Guards troopers who
volunteered to run the camp with Bernier, the students will participate in
a variety of activities aimed at helping them make decisions about drug use
and build their self-esteem.

Bernier said a new activity this year is journal writing to help the
students form coping skills.

"That way they can write something down whether it's good or bad, what they
learned or even just draw a picture," Bernier said.

After a Saturday night camp-out at the Horse Guards' Avon farm, the
students will have the opportunity to show off their riding skills Sunday
to their families and receive plaques featuring horseshoes and a photo of
the horse they rode during the camp during a graduation ceremony. Bernier,
who has been a trooper in the Horse Guards for six years, said he enjoys
watching the Bristol students grow and become more confident over the
course of the camp.

Asked what made him volunteer his time at the camp, Bernier responded, the
students' "self confidence about doing something they couldn't do before
but can now. They've interacted with an animal of 1,000 pounds, their fear
is gone through that interactions and that's their success."

Bernier said the "Just Say Nay to Drugs" program closely mirrors the DARE
curriculum by empowering the students to make good choices.

"All of this, I hope we can attribute to helping them find their self-worth
because the more confident they are, the less likely they are to do bad
things because they have a better feeling about themselves," Bernier said.

Superintendent of Schools Ann Clark said the Board of Education found the
program to be worthwhile for local students.

"I've heard only good things about it," Clark said. "Any program that's
positive for kids and gives them good things to do during the summer, we
would always support that."

Stafford School fifth-grade teacher Cindy Krueger said her students enjoyed
meeting their DARE officer, Kelly Flynn, in her capacity as a Horse Guards
sergeant when she brought a horse to the school.

"She gave the students cards with the horse's and trooper's names on it and
the kids are encouraged to write letters to the troopers saying they plan
to stay off drugs," Krueger said. "It's an extension [of DARE]. It just
reinforces the idea again and is another opportunity for them to see the
officer in another capacity."

Founded in 1778, the First Company Governor's Horse Guard is the oldest
cavalry unit in continuous service in the country and is responsible for a
variety of duties, including participating in parades, crowd control and
search and rescue operations.

The "Just Say Nay to Drugs" camp will take place in Avon from July 12-15.