C主播大秀’s documentary series returns on 17 February at 5.15pm. The first episode follows 14-year-old Kai as he works at stables and learns how to show-jump. Kai has ADHD. We asked Kai and his mother Jeani some questions after their appearances on Breakfast and Five Live.
Tell us who you are and what you've been doing today
I’m Kai, I’m 14 and I’ve spent the morning promoting a programme about my life called Never Give Up.
Tell us more about Never Give Up
The show follows me around showing my day-to-day life and what I would like to do as a career and my interests.
And what's interesting you at the moment?
Show jumping – just a set of hurdles and obstacles in a course and sets of poles at different heights; riding the horse around the course and trying not to knock down any poles.
What is challenging about show jumping?
Working at the stables can be hard. I help out five or six days a week as work experience and I ride every Thursday and I train for show jumping or dressage with my instructor.
How were you introduced to show jumping?
I was watching a TV show on horses which I thought was a documentary and it ended up actually being a show jumping championship. Right then I decided that’s what I wanted to do. My other big inspiration was a man called Brynley Powell, who is a former Olympic show jumper.
What was your experience riding a horse for the first time like?
I’m calmer when I’m around horses. I’m not as hyperactive as I would be when I’m around my friends or out with my mates. When I’m at the stables I’m calm, I’m quiet, I’m always alert and ready for anything.
Can you describe what it is like when you are hyperactive?
Because I have ADHD my attention is not as good as it would be for other people, I get distracted very easily and I mess about more. I’m moving or bobbing about, just like I’m doing now!
Can you remember the first time you felt the sense of calmness around the horses?
When I pass through the stables it’s like a vortex. When I get out of my Mum’s car and pass through the threshold my mind automatically changes because I know these horses are not going to judge me or think anything bad about me. That’s when I can just be who I am. But I’ve also got to be calm when I’m around them.
What actually goes into working at the stables? Is working at the stables harder work than what you may have to do in school?
When I ride I put my things in a locker room and go out into the yard and see what needs doing for the day, either mucking out or help getting a horse ready for ride, brushing or grooming.
For me it doesn't feel like any work, but for my friends it would probably feel like a whole years’ worth of work! When I was in a classroom I wasn't paying attention very much, I was always messing about because of my ADHD.
What do your friends say about what you achieved?
They tease me, but in a nice way. Because we've known each other since nursery we all support each other in what we want to do. We’re brothers from another mother sort of thing. Also my Mum has done a lot for me. I couldn’t ask for a better Mum.
What do your friends think about you filming a programme?
They love it, it’s brought them so much attention at school, they brag about it, especially Malaki.
What is your ambition?
I would love to become an international Olympic show jumper in the 2020 Olympics.
Jeani, was the pairing up of Kai and horses a magical find for you?
It was, because in some ways it was just another activity to burn up some energy from my point of view. He was doing it then with other children and he was learning alongside the riding, so that’s all it was from my point of view. But the minute he got there you knew something special was happening you were seeing something special, something different. I think people who have seen him ride, they are amazed.
When he was assessed at the stables he had only been riding for 20 minutes every other week for about nine months - not a lot of time at all. But, when they saw him they thought he had been riding for a lot longer because there is a lot of natural talent there and a natural affinity with horses.
How does Kai change when he is around horses?
He becomes a lot calmer, especially when he is riding. There’s a lot of geometry involved in negotiating the jumps and a lot of mathematical calculations too of the kind I didn't even appreciate. Watching Kai, knowing that in school he struggled, particularly in maths, is an amazing experience. When I watch him on horseback, in motion, I see him working out what are quite difficult calculations in order to work the angle and speed of the horse in order to make jumps.
Is there something about ADHD that makes this kind of thinking ideal for this kind of activity?
Yes, it’s a fact that children with ADHD learn better when in motion. If they are moving about they learn better. When I watched him on a horse I thought, ‘Why is this working when teaching maths whilst sat in a chair doesn't?’ Kai processes things very quickly in his head and has very good spacial awareness the two things you need to be a show jumper.
How did you feel when you saw Kai on a horse for the first time?
I was crying, because I just couldn’t believe it, watching him after all the upset after he was excluded from school. I saw Kai go from being very hurt and damaged - there is still a long way to go with him - but seeing him on the horse and seeing him listening and learning so quickly and the confidence of his physique was just a magical moment. I welled up.
Why do you think it’s important that C主播大秀 have made this programme?
For Kai it has proved to him that he is good and turns around any nasty labels he has been given. For other children and particularly other children with ADHD, I know how their parents will struggle. Each child will have their own skill and their own talent, it’s about finding it. It is about going out there and trying to find what your child is good at and then supporting them and generally to inspire other children.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Yes, I would like to add Kai’s position as working class and black, we don’t have a field for a garden, we don’t have a pony, but Kai is committed and determined enough to try and get into the equine world, where there are no black role models, there are black people involved but not competition, so Kai has got a long way to go. However, up to now the equine world has been so welcoming and so encouraging, they are not letting what they see as somebody who maybe shouldn’t fit in their world, stop them from encouraging Kai and I just applaud those people. I am incredibly thankful because this has been his saving grace, they have turned him around.
Kai and Jeani were speaking to Lucy McKinstry and Jon Jacob
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