AQHA'S TAKE ME RIDING INTRODUCES KIDS TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF HORSES
Oct. 27, 2014
America's Horse Weekly reports:
As AQHA members and fans, you might take for granted your interaction with horses. But there are millions of horse-crazy kids around the globe whose parents don't know where to start connecting them with horses and fueling their passion.
Take Me Riding is a brand-new, revolutionary effort to introduce children to a wonderful world of horses. Take Me Riding is an all-breeds "edutainment experience" for children ages 5 to 9 found online at www.TakeMeRiding.com.
Among its many features, Take Me Riding offers a geo-targeted map to help parents find horseback riding facilities and horse events for their children.
"It's refreshing how leaders in the horse industry have come together for the similar cause to introduce more children to the wonderful world of horses," says Todd Branson, AQHA director of youth development. "Children can play fun, educational games; watch comprehensive videos showing kids with horses; learn more with an ultimate 'all about horses' encyclopedia; and find horses near their home with geolocation maps and driving directions to popular horse landmarks, events and riding centers."
Take Me Riding is designed for the fast-paced family lifestyle, and efficiently works on mobile devices and tablets. Desktop or laptop users have an enhanced experience with more games and a customizable Riding Space where children can collect images of horses, earn badges for their online and offline horse experiences, track their progress and much more!
The primary focus of Take Me Riding is three original video seasons, each with nine episodes that follow the lives of Jack, Anna and Grace. Take Me Riding is also packed with resources for Mom and Dad, lesson plans built around the common core standards for teachers, an event calendar that offers upcoming horse events around the United States and a store that carries almost anything a child could ever want, except a real horse. Mom and Dad can also use the comprehensive geolocation map to find trusted trainers, instructors and locations to inquire more about a real horse experience.
Take Me Riding came to life from a comprehensive research project led by AQHA and an advisory board of industry leaders from the American Youth Horse Council, Certified Horsemanship Association, Cooperative Extension Equine Specialists, The United States Pony Clubs Inc. and Wagonhound Land and Livestock. This team assisted in determining where the deficiencies existed in membership and participation, how to engage with a younger audience and what new products should be considered to maximize the engagement potential.
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