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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom