Horsemanship as an alternative to gun violence

Reverend William King speaks about his horsemanship organization, Project RIDE, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jon Laflamme

By Claudia Balthazar

Horse maintenance is a hard job but can be rewarding when you master the skill of riding the beast, says Reverend William King of Baton Rouge. Through his organization Ride Into Deep Entertainment, also known as Project RIDE, King teaches inner city youth the values of horsemanship.

“The kids learn how to do social skills that most kids don’t know how to do from the inner-city,” he said. Through Project RIDE, King and his family teach youth how to wash horses, landscape, deal with computers. King says violence is a growing problem in Baton Rouge, and Project RIDE gives youths an alternative to violence.

“If you get kids involved in wholesome activities and teach them to read the Bible, [they’ll know that] they should not kill their brothers and they should not kill their sisters,” King said.

“I put kids to work. I give them money to do chores… We give kids opportunities they probably don’t get in the inner-city.” He added, “It’s really difficult for kids to change their atmosphere because they want to make quick money.”

King says Project RIDE is funded by donations because single parents may not be able to afford the program “I don’t do it because I’m a minister. I do it because it’s the right thing to do,” he added.

“The community needs to get involved because there’s a lot of single parents out there. You got a lot of guns in the home and the men are not there. The church is going to have to step up to the plate.”

Churches, fraternities and sororities, and community groups- should get involved in the fight against inner city gun violence, he said.

“We’ve got to keep trying. It’s an everyday fight.”