Adventure/Outdoors Camp,
Camps,
Horseback Riding Camp,
Outdoor Fun Camp,
Spring Break Camp
Learn about horse care: grooming, feeding, bathing and even horse first aid! Saddle a horse, learn about tack, and even explore different styles of riding! You'll find out interesting facts about the history, evolution and anatomy of the horse while picking up some horse lingo (did you know that horses are measured in hands?) and caring for and riding the horse you'll have throughout the camp session.
When not riding, you'll get to play games, make new friends and get crafty!
All of our camps are onsite within a beautiful county park system which allows the campers to enjoy nature hikes and explore the countryside on select days of the camp as well!
Bring your own lunch and don't forget your bottle of water!! Depending on the weather, campers may eat indoors or down in Chaparral's grove.
For riding instruction campers will be assessed based on experience and skill level:
Level 1: The basic seat, steering and riding technique at the walk, transitions from the halt to the walk and walk to the halt.
Level 2: Walking and posting the trot while staying centered and balanced. Ability to steer at both gaits and maintaining good control.
Level 3: Balanced canter, leg yields, headset and collection. Ability to regulate gait and ride patterns.
While campers are grouped together, each student is taught based on their individual skill level by our excellent instructors, prioritizing safety and fun while riding. Our teaching staff represents well over a century of training and riding experience, advancement is decided by the instructor who primarily considers the safety, skill and maturity exhibited by the rider. We encourage all our riders to set goals during their session and do our best to help them attain those, be it a first canter or a perfect halt from the walk.
Drop off and Pick up:
Campers should arrive each morning between 8:45 and 9:00 AM. Pickup should be promptly at the end of the day at 2:00 PM. Your child’s safety and enjoyment at camp are very important to us. Being on time allows them to receive the maximum benefit of camp, and due to limited supervision after camp, it is important that they are picked up on time.
Children must be picked up by 2:15 PM. There will be a $1.00 per minute charge for every minute after 2:15 PM.
When I shared the first day experience, including bickering counselors, poor teaching methods of animal info, and being cramped in a small room because it had heat on a rainy day BUT not enough room to spread out and eat lunch safely in these COVID times, Carla is the one who responded to me in person the next morning. She listened and assured me that she'd be managing them. The 3 days of that week that Carla was there, no issues with the teenage counselors, or anything else. For those 3 days when I asked my daughter how her day was, she spoke excitedly about her time with the horses (the other 2 days it was about the treatment of the kids by the teenagers, including bickering, and refusing to take a picture of my daughter on the horse).
The 2 days that Erazel was the manager onsite, the teenagers did not have adult supervision. I shared the last day experience with Erazel, including that the kids were doing 2 hours of barn chores- sounds a bit like using campers for child labor. Erazel said that she didn't think that had happened so my daughter gave me the names of the older campers who had done the most work and the two teenager "counselors" who were chatting together in a stall while the 10-13yos cleaned horse stalls. Her reply was that my daughter wasn't a good fit for their programs.
Instead of approaching with curiosity by asking more questions, by sending out a survey to all the campers, by talking to the parents of the older kids, she told me that we weren't welcome there anymore. Why not use this for a growth opportunity, instead?
A credit to Erazel, when my daughter shared her COVID concerns regarding being in the cramped room for lunch, she sent the kids outside.
