Lending a Helping Hand During the COVID-19 Crisis

By: Brittany Bevis

We’re currently dealing with a situation in the United States and abroad that is unprecedented. Never before has there been a global pandemic that affected all four corners of the globe so deeply and profoundly.

During this challenging time, many of our daily routines have drastically changed. Adults have been sent home from work, businesses have been closed, and kids are out of school. Everyone is trying hard to adjust to a new normal.

Now, more important than ever, it is crucial to find those bright spots in the darkness. The glimmers of hope and kindness that remind us that humanity is in this together. It might be something as simple as picking up groceries for an elderly neighbor or sharing a positive and uplifting message on social media. We recently discovered one of these such stories.

A horse trainer wears many hats- instructor, barn manager, accountant, psychologist, truck driver, ect., but Austin Gooding certainly didn’t expect, when the coronavirus hit, that he would add math teacher to his repertoire of skills.

A photo shared recently on social media shows Austin at his desk working on the multiplication of fractions with a fifth grader named Rene, who is the son of the Bauer-Gooding Show Horses Barn Manager, Jose Rodriguez.

“Rene is 10 years old, and he’s very talkative and outgoing,” Austin says. “He’s not super into horses yet, but he does enjoy helping us feed them. He’s out of school because of the coronavirus for three weeks, and his school gave him a bunch of homework that he has to have completed by the end of the three weeks. He told me he could use some help in math and science. Each day, around lunchtime, I take 30 minutes or so and help him out.”

Luckily, when Austin was in school, his best subject was math, so Rene came to the right person for help. “It don’t necessarily enjoy it, but it just always came easy to me! As a horse trainer, I think it’s important to have some general knowledge of everything. You never know who is going to need help. I know me, my mom, and my dad, over the years, have helped many of our youth clients with schoolwork, both at home when they come to ride and at the shows.”

Austin says his budding pupil is doing very well indeed and is showing progress. “Once I explained everything, he seemed to grasp it very well. The next day, when we worked on it again, he remembered what he had learned from the day before.”

Not only was this a kind gesture that we thought deserved to be recognized, Austin brings up a great point about the importance of taking care of your own when they need help.

“Rene’s father, Jose Rodriguez, is an amazing asset to our program and does a great job of taking excellent care of our horses,” Austin says. “It’s so nice when we leave for an extended period of time for shows that we don’t have to worry about the kind of care the horses at home are getting. It’s very important when trainers come across such a hard worker like Jose that they take good care of them and their family.”

If you have a great story to share with EquineChronicle.com, email B.Bevis@EquineChronicle.com.