'Horses never judge' says award-winning teen

A Different Kind of Education

Kaden Wilson had been home taught and rarely leaving the house when he first arrived at Shropshire Adventures Academy in Stottesdon, Shropshire. The academy provides post-16 and special educational needs education through equine provision, outdoor learning and forest schools. For Kaden, it would turn out to be exactly the environment he needed.

A Slow Start. A Significant One.

In those early days, Kaden wouldn't get out of the car. Eye contact felt impossible, and the idea of getting on a horse was out of the question. Academy director Daniel Eddies-Davies remembers it well. "He wouldn't get out of the car," he said. "But eventually he built up the confidence to come down to the yard."

The turning point came when Kaden got on a horse called Flash for the first time. "This smile that came from Kaden," said Daniel. "We knew we had conquered something."

What the Horses Did.

For Kaden, the horses weren't just part of the programme. They were the reason everything changed. Taking part in the British Horse Society's Changing Lives Through Horses programme, which offers an alternative educational pathway for young people, Kaden began to find his confidence in a way that traditional education had never made possible.

"They go at your pace," he said. "When you want to do something they'll do it. They're friendly. They'll never judge you."

Alongside the equine work, Kaden also took part in outings including laser tag, badminton and caving, each one another step towards the confident young person he was becoming.

A National Award. A Deserved One.

Kaden's progress was recognised at the highest level when he was presented with the Pamela Almond Changing Lives Through Horses Achieve Award at the BHS annual awards ceremony, handed to him by the society's president, actor Martin Clunes. Kaden admitted he thought he was in trouble when he was called in for a private chat beforehand.

For Daniel, the moment captured everything the academy stands for. "From that young person to then shaking hands with Martin Clunes," he said, "it just shows that horses work."

From Silence to Jokes.

The transformation in Kaden goes beyond qualifications and awards. The young man who couldn't make eye contact and rarely spoke is now, in his own words, "telling lots of jokes."

"I've started speaking a lot more," he said. "I couldn't make eye contact at first. Eye contact was a big no. Now I've come out of my shell."

For his mum, who first introduced him to the idea of working with horses after her own father had kept them, seeing that change has been everything.