Summer Camps

	We have had 3 summer camps so far this year. All our campers sleep in one of our two Tipis. Our schedule is: Friday Evening: arrive--get settled in have a snack bareback lesson (in pairs--one leads, one rides) Saturday: get up, eat breakfast, make everything nice and neat. Talking circle Saddle up and ride until it gets too hot Lunch and relax in the pool (stock tank) Activity/lesson and snack More fun dinner ride again until it gets too dark Sunday: Pretty much the same as Saturday Monday: Trail Ride! Late lunch paint up the horses, get ready for the Horse Show Horse Show with parents and friends invited to show off what we've learned Say Goodbye to your horse Snack and pack it all out See you next camp!
Bareback is fun! Here is Benny, doing bareback. We do bareback on Friday nights, to give everyone a good feel of their horse. We also use bareback time to help us decide which horse belongs with which child for the weekend.
	We teach everyone how to tack up their own horse. We also teach basic tack safety checks and how to ride safely. By the time Monday rolls around everyone is able to catch their own horse and (mostly) able to saddle and bridle by themselves. Basic grooming techniques are also taught.
	Calvalry drill, also known as drill team or formation riding is a great skill builder. We teach the kids basic columns of two at both walk and trot. It's really not as easy as it looks!

We finally finish off on Monday with a trail ride (sooner if the skills permit it). This is a very good time for everyone, both horses and riders. And we have such nice trails to go on, especially for beginners. The skills for trail riding seem easy enough, ability to go up and down, and ability to stay on. But there are many challenges to trail riding in open country (like ours). There are many holes created by badgers and rabbits need to be avoided. Critters (like rabbits) can jump out at any time and both horse and rider need to know how to handle this. Two exciting moments I've had recently were when we (my horse and I) spotted the rattlesnack (let's take another route!) and when my horse got a bee up her nose! She didn't like that very much. But both of us were able to handle each situation safely.