03/22/07 Mustang Troop

Mustang Troop Going from the rough inner city to a prestigious Kentucky horse farm is quite a feat. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to tell you how it's done. Rodriquez Smith was able to leave the projects of Lexington, Kentucky's inner city and become a groom at the legendary Clarborne Farms. Rodriquez credits the Mustang Troop giving him the opportunity to get a job he thoroughly enjoys. An article in the Readers Digest by Lynn Rosellini my wife thought I should read related the story of the Mustang Troop. The Troop's home base is the Kentucky Horse Park; a state-owned equine theme park situated about fifteen minutes outside of Lexington, Kentucky. The park's green pastures feed Wyoming mustangs that are the equine half of the Mustang Troop. The human half is at-risk youngsters ages nine to 18 from Lexington's inner city. These kids are bused to the Kentucky Horse Park by the Lexington Police Activities League each summer where they are each assigned a horse to work with for the summer. Lessons learned include riding; tending, grooming and I think most importantly that it's okay to show affection and care about something other than yourself. The thing I noticed in the article's pictures was the smiles or concentration to their immediate tasks and not the tough guy or girl image so many inner city pictures show. The riders of the Mustang Troop are good enough to have ridden at the Gator Bowl, President Clinton's inaugural parade and the Kentucky Derby Parade. I think these accomplishments are attained by that horse mystique that just makes a person feel good. I'm Jeff Keane. Readers Digest April 2007