PIO Students Learn the Language of Horses

Socheat was both excited and nervous when she arrived at the Genius Resort stable in Phnom Penh in March to embark on a new adventure. After graduating from People Improvement Organization, where she’d studied for 10 years, she was starting training to become a groom in a program funded by a Gender Equality Grant from FEI Solidarity to the Cambodian Equestrian Federation. 

It was a daunting challenge for a 19-year-old who’d never touched or seen a real horse.

“They said it’s hard, and I told them nothing is easy,” PIO Founder Phymean Noun said. A CNN Hero, Phymean started PIO in 2002 to change the lives of children living in poverty through education. “You have to learn, and you have to strive. You have to complete it. Even in school, studying is not easy, and you can not quit. You have to try everything.

Socheat and two sisters, Chheng E and Chheng Ouy, all former PIO students, graduated from the two-month training session in June. Discovering a love for horses, they have continued to work and train at the Genius Resort. 

“I liked animals but never had anything to do with horses,” Socheat said. “I like the horses’ characteristics. They are different. I know they can’t speak human language, but they have a communication language of themselves, and it’s very unique to them.”

Socheat lives in Phnom Penh with her brother and parents. “For the future, I want to be able to support myself and my family so that we can have a better life,” she said. She dreams of someday earning enough money to travel and experience new cultures, and the salaries for experienced grooms and other equestrian roles can far surpass alternative opportunities in Cambodia.

At the barn, she’s enjoyed getting to know the horses and how to care for them. Riding an hour a day, she is now trotting, cantering and jumping small jumps. 

Chheng E and Chheng Ouy work in the pony stable, while Socheat works in the stable used by the national team, where she said she is the only girl. 

“We all gained confidence from riding horses because the first time was very scary, very hard,” Socheat said.

They’ve also enjoyed some teenage humor that spans time and culture: “We were accompanying a guest in the arena,” explained Socheat with a smile. “The horses were trotting, and one farted. It was a huge explosion, a loud sound in the arena!”

All the girls broke out laughing at the memory. They found some humor as well in Chheng E’s mishaps. “Chheng E was cantering, and the horse suddenly stopped, and sometimes she flies off,” Socheat said with a smile.

Chheng E was afraid to touch the horses at first, but now she loves horses, including grooming and riding them. 

“I love everything about the horse–their eyes, muzzle, ears, everything,” she said. “I love big horses. Some of them are good, and some are naughty.”

Chheng E hopes to someday become a professional rider on the national team, and her first show is September 22. Some members of her family will come to watch, but her father, who has been in the hospital for a long time, won’t be able to join them.

Chheng E and Chheng Ouy, who are 16 and 17, had to leave school to start working and supporting their family. They hope a career with horses will help them to care for themselves and their families. 

Socheat also provides for her family by working in the stables. Her parents suffer from serious illness and require expensive medication every month.”It costs a lot to get the pills,” Socheat said. “My dad almost got liver cancer, but [it was caught]. My mom has a similar [condition] to him but has more bacteria, and she’s still recovering–I don’t think she is getting better. I think she is getting worse.”

For now, Socheat continues to train to learn more about the equestrian industry and develop skills to serve her as a groom, to speak the language of the horse and to someday fund wider explorations.

“I love horses very much,” she said. “I love working with horses, being able to understand another life that’s not human and understanding how they work and live, their behaviors. Sometimes working with an animal is not easy, but understanding horse language is one of many languages I can work on. Hopefully I will be able to visit horse barns in the future when I travel.”