'Horses never judge' says award-winning teen

A teenager who won a national achievement award after working with horses helped transform his confidence, said the animals "never judge you".

Kaden Wilson, 18, is a student at the Shropshire Adventure Academy, which provides post-16 and special educational needs (SEN) education, including equine provision, forest schools and outdoor adventure.

At first too scared to get out of the car or look staff members in the eye, he said bonding with the horses helped him become more sociable.

The 18-year-old, of Leominster, Herefordshire, was presented with the Pamela Almond Changing Lives Through Horses Achieve Award at the BHS annual awards by its president, actor Martin Clunes.

Kaden took part in the British Horse Society's (BHS) Changing Lives Through Horses programme, which offers an alternative educational pathway for children and young people.

Of the award, he said: "I thought I was in trouble, because I had a private chat about it."

He added: "I was home taught at first... I wasn't leaving the house or anything. My mum wanted me to get into horses because my mum's dad used to live at a house in Leominster with horses.

"At first I refused to get on, I was scared to get on [the horses]," he said.

He said time at the academy, based in Stottesdon, Shropshire, had help him come out of his shell.

"I couldn't make eye contact at first, eye contact was a big no. I've started speaking a lot more, telling lots of jokes," he said.

"They [the horses] go at your pace, when you want to do something they'll do it, they're friendly, they'll never judge you."

He has also taken part in outings to do laser tag, badminton and caving, though said he would not recommend the latter.

Academy director Daniel Eddies-Davies said when Kaden had first started, he "wouldn't get out of the car", but eventually built up the confidence to go down to the yard.

"Initially he was just walking with the horses," he said. "His first time when he got on a horse called Flash… this smile that came from Kaden — we knew we had conquered something.

"From that young person to then shaking hands with Martin Clunes, it just shows that horses work."

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