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Thursday, September 9, 2010 |
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Kids get taste of cowboy life
Published March 16, 2008
SEGUIN — Richard Spencer walked a little taller on Friday.
From his hat to his boots, the second-grader looked the part of a true buckaroo during Vogel Elementary’s Cowboy Day. Though admittedly a city-slicker, Richard was eager to try his hand at roping.
“It’s fun, but it’s not as easy as it looks,” he said. “I think the best part of Cowboy Days is wearing a hat; we hardly ever get to wear hats.”
Cowboy Day at Vogel was a mix of fun and hands-on lessons as classes of kindergartners through sixth-graders moved through different stations set up on the school’s lawn. Dressed in their finest western wear, the students met with horses and donkeys, learned about riding gear, gave western dancing a spin and picked up plenty of other lessons on frontier life.
Second-grade teacher Cynthia Bentley said the event, held the last day before spring break, is a great way for kids to learn while using up their excited pre-holiday energy.
“It also ties in with public school week,” she said. “We’ve been studying about cowboys and Texas history by watching cowboy movies and doing activities in class. They’ve learned all kinds of things about Texas.”
Rayvin Burget, one of Bentley’s students, said some official Texas facts are a bit obscure.
“There’s even a state flying mammal,” she said, referencing the Mexican free-tailed bat.
Fourth-grader Alexandrea Seaton, a third-grader, said her interest ran to the larger mammals that visited campus.
“I went trail riding once and that’s when I fell in love with horses,” she said. “They’re kind of big which can be scary, but I was really excited to see them at school.”
Older students got a tour of a horse trailer and everyone got an opportunity to make friends with beasts of burden and learn about the contributions horses and mules have made to Texas history.
Bill White, director of the Bexar County mounted patrol, said his group looks forward to opportunities to speak with young people and stress the important role that horses still play in society.
“I’ve talked to people at police departments who say that they don’t need horses because they have a bicycle patrol. However, I think they’re missing out on one of the best (public relations) tools around,” he said. “You never see anyone who wants to come up and pet a bicycle.”
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