Ruth L. Schemm, Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim, and Lezlie Hiner
Polo is not commonly classified as a sport of interest to urban youth. However, recent media coverage of the winners of the 2011 Polo Association National Championship featured three African American youth from the Philadelphia team, Work to Ride, holding high the ornate trophy. Raised in impoverished communities, these athletes were drawn to the excitement and challenge of polo, “the sport of kings.” How can horse and barn chores foster incentives to: compete in a taxing sport; extend friendship to individuals from different backgrounds; attend school and obtain good grades; negotiate and resolve conflicts; regard set-backs with eloquence and resilience; and lead and perform under pressure? Can ideas learned from the success of the Work To Ride program be translated to other out of time, after school programs, clubs or anti-violence organizations? Insight might be gleaned from Csikszentmihalyi , a psychologist and researcher, who described enjoyment as the balance between boredom and anxiety.
Pairing the “just-right challenge” with the interested child requires planning for both routine and challenge. After school programs provide constructive outlets for urban youth during 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., a vulnerable time, when a significant number of children’s delinquent activities take place. At Work To Ride, horses, competition, training and horse and barn chores are part of the required weekly eight-hour minimum routine for riders. African Americans are the target audience of this socially supportive program designed to use horses and polo as the “carrots” to promote personal responsibility, school success, career aspirations, healthy competition, leadership and achievement. The program is designed to create a “home away from home” for 20 riders.
Homicide is the leading cause of death for African American men aged 15-34 years, and in 2006 2,946 black males aged 15-24 were victims of homicide. After-school programs are an invaluable resource to encourage resilience and improve quality of life. Based on initial information gathered in 2009-10, school performance, goals, roles, and routines of 19 Work To Ride riders aged 7-19 years were studied. Findings indicate that riders categorized Work To Ride staff, riders and volunteers as “family” and expressed short term goals such as “get good grades” and long term goals including “attend college” or “become a pilot or lawyer.” Responses to a quality of life questionnaire were skewed to the positive, except in the areas of neighborhood and environment. Interestingly, some riders expressed concern about their classmates, school or street, describing how they avoided danger. Robust daily routines and the social support of other riders, staff and program alumni were valued. Sometimes the “fastest way out of town is on the back of a horse.”
Ruth L. Schemm is Professor Health Policy/Public Health at the University of the Sciences in Philadephia. Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim is Director of Institutional Research at Delaware Valley College. Lezlie Hiner is Executive Director of Work to Ride.
Contact: r.schemm@usp.edu