Pubdate: Sat, 29 Apr 2006
Source: Hartford Courant (CT)
Copyright: 2006 The Hartford Courant
Contact:  http://www.courant.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183
Author: Fulvio Cativo, Courant Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education)

FROM HORSEBACK, AN APPEAL TO 'SAY NAY'

WEST HARTFORD -- Troopers from the First Company Governor's Horse 
Guards swung by Braeburn School Friday morning to spread their 
anti-drug message: "Say Nay to Drugs."

Dozens of fifth-graders sat on the school's playfield and watched 
intently as the company trotted on the field and demonstrated basic 
formations. After the company finished, it lined up in front of the students.

Pfc. David Perry, coordinator of the "Say Nay" program, quickly asked 
what the students thought.

"Cool?" a few pupils said.

Then a few more joined the chorus with more certainty. "Cool!" the group said.

In the first of two presentations, a horse snorted loudly, scaring 
some of the students and prompting a quick "whoa" from a few others.

Students have been hearing the drug-awareness message for years, but 
never quite like this, Braeburn Principal Natalie Simpson said.

"Adding horses gives it a whole new element for these kids," said 
Mary Ellen Diot, a technology paraprofessional at Braeburn who also 
has been a company member for two years.

Braeburn is one of six schools in Connecticut that will get visits 
from the Horse Guards as part of the "Say Nay to Drugs" program. The 
program and its presenters place a special importance in traveling 
across the state to teach kids about dangerous drug use, Perry said.

"All of us have kids, I work in a jail. I see it on a daily basis how 
important the message is," said Perry.

National Guard personnel also were at Braeburn, where students 
checked out a military ambulance.

The theme of the Horse Guards' presentation complemented studies on 
health, public safety and drug abuse that are part of the curriculum 
in West Hartford schools, Simpson said.

"They will remember it and they'll remember the message because of 
the way it was delivered," Simpson said.

The "Say Nay" program was developed years ago and modeled after the 
nationwide Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. The program 
focuses on the relationship between rider and horse to teach children 
about discipline, self-esteem, training and drug awareness. The Horse 
Guards visited students in Plainville last week and next will visit 
students in Avon.

"Programs like this are great because it reinforces what we teach," 
said Officer David Cavedon, one of several town police officers who 
visit West Hartford classrooms year-round to discuss issues ranging 
from gangs and drugs to bicycle safety.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom