HORSES HELP REHABILITATE JUVENILE OFFENDERS

Program: Caring for the horses helps the boys establish a routine

WICHITA -- The boys at the Judge James V. Riddel Boys Ranch have a new
horse for Christmas. Now they will have to take care of him -- and
that is exactly the point. In December, the Sedgwick County Commission
accepted the donation of Kid, a 5-year-old quarter horse gelding.

But within this little-noticed government line item hides a much
larger agenda for turning troubled boys into men.

The hope is that feeding, grooming and shoveling out Kid's stall will
instill something in juvenile offenders that has escaped them so far
- -- a sense of responsibility.

In addition, the bond that develops between a boy and a horse often
helps the boy learn to relate in a more positive fashion to everyone
around him, said Robert "R.J." Brassfield, youth facilities manager
for the Sedgwick County Department of Corrections.

Seventeen-year-old Adam, of Wichita, said working with the ranch's
eight horses -- and especially Kid, who needs a little extra attention
while he settles in -- has improved his outlook on life.

The newfound ability to stick to a task helped him earn his high
school equivalency diploma while serving a six-month sentence for
violating parole on an earlier marijuana conviction.

"I think it will help me stay out," he said.

Kid was donated to the ranch by Ken and Lenora Schuldt, of Goddard,
owners of the Ar-Kansas Pepper Farm, which doesn't raise peppers but
does raise horses.

Kid isn't a star, but he is a solid performer, Lenora Schuldt
said.

He has had three years of training, has appeared in local horse shows
and has been ridden in team penning competition by the Schuldts'
soon-to-be son-in-law.

Kid inherited the powerful build that made the quarter horse a
favorite partner of the pioneers and cowboys who tamed the West.

But while Kid is a credit to his breed, he didn't fit in with the
Schuldts' plans to focus on breeding and showing paso finos, the more
elegant and smooth-riding "horse of the Spanish conquistadors," Lenora
Schuldt said.

Kid, valued at $6,000, will replace a boys ranch horse that died last
year, said Mark Masterson, county corrections director.

Finding his place in the pecking order of a new herd has made Kid a
bit skittish, Chad Smiley said.

"He's getting used to the other horses," Smiley said. "We should be
able to start riding him in a couple of weeks."

Smiley, an independent living therapist, has been holding the reins of
the horse program since September, when the regular boss, Kevin
Hansen, was called to active duty with the National Guard.

Brassfield said that over the past two years, Hansen has built the
equestrian program from a small club into a major therapeutic activity
involving 17 of the 49 boys at the ranch.

One of those boys, 17-year-old Taylor, said, "I've always wanted to
ride horses, forever."

But living in Wichita, he never got the chance until he was sent to
the boys ranch for breaking into cars.

Now, he is studying for his high school equivalency and hopes for a
career as a mechanic or a machinist.

Working with horses "helps get you ready to work back in the
community," he said. "I think it's going to help me, being out here."

On Thursday, 2 1/2 weeks into his 4 1/2-month sentence, Taylor was
part of a supervised group that took a trail ride around nearby Lake
Afton.

"It was just an incredible thing," he said. "You give them a kick and
they start to run, and you feel the wind going across your face."

It is a taste of something he has lost, at least temporarily.

"It's so free," he said.