Happy Hello from Session 2!

Thursday Morning June 26th

Dearest Parents, One and All,

I hope this letter finds you well and happily into the fun of summer. I send you all our best, on behalf of the kids, staff and myself! It was such fun to meet you all on Sunday and have you deliver your “precious cargo” to us!!!! We are all working so hard to make this special for each and every girl….

I am most apologetic that I have not written to you sooner. I promised to write every 2 or 3 days….Honestly, I have had my hands so full with the campers and been so much with them that I have not been able to sneak away to write you. I am sad to report that we have just had horrible weather for the first two days….then, yesterday while the sun shone, I really got out there with the staff and got them finally on their right horses and in the right groups. I swear we have never had such severe thunderstorms….We would say to the girls on Monday & Tuesday…”Hurry up and get tacked up to ride”…then, the clouds would gather and we would have to say “Hurry up and get untacked and up to the lodge”….Truly yesterday was the first day that I had been able to make sure all the girls were correctly mounted and in the right groups….

I felt it was far better to be with them than writing to you….Today, I am on a day off and it was my first priority to be in touch with YOU! I do hope you agree with my priorities….I hate having to have the kids without me during a thunderstorm….especially at night…Plus, I think due to the weather and the ‘hurry up’ to try to ride, we have had several (4) kids that have been homesick. Thus…I wanted to tend to them too. So, I do apologize but trust me when I say that I have not been sitting around idle!!!

Happily, today is bright and beautiful. They are going to really get riding to get ready for the show on Saturday….They have been really good sports. The courses that they will do (for those ready to jump) are being set as I write this. They will get to practice as much as the weather will allow. We don’t mind riding in the rain but no thunder & lightening for us!!!

So, let me review what we have done to catch you up…And…now that things have settled down and ALL the kids are over being homesick, I can be more regular about writing you….

The first afternoon and evening went just as we outlined in the letter we sent you. The girls were all great as they got to know each other. The Scavenger Hunt was a big hit as they ran all over the farm finding out things like how many windows are in the Indoor Arena and how many stalls in the Outside Barn. This helps them get to know the farm before they go to ride the next day. Each camper listened so hard to the orientation about each part of camp. They are really good KIDS!!!!

The first night went well and the schedule got planned from their list of activities. We introduced them to the favorite camp songs and lit the candles for the Goodnight Circle. Everyone sang and it put a nice closure to the first night.

The next morning, we got ready to ride and to sort out horse matches and riding groups. Despite drizzle mixed with real showers, we went anyway. We divided them into five big groups with the intent to get them into 8 groups of 6 riders with a Senior riding counselor and a Counselor-In-Training for each one. Our original plan was to have them ride that afternoon to see if we had organized them into the appropriate group and to try out the horse switches….Unfortunately, it was one of the afternoons that was the worst and we had to keep them indoors.

We decided to clean tack and to get the horses all trimmed up for the horse show and/or lesson for the parents….The girls were all great about this and it should be easier to just wipe off the tack tomorrow before the show.

That night we played Bag Skits…a cute activity where each room selects 5 items and puts them in a bag. Then, all the rooms get one of these bags and has to create a skit around the contents of the bag….It is a great way for the kids to get to know each other in their rooms and to get all the campers comfortable with each other. While the kids were planning the skits, the senior staff and I had a staff meeting. We have a staff member who just comes in every evening to help with Evening Activities, whatever they may be…She and the CITS stayed with the kids while we met. This meeting helps us keep the staff organized and to iron out any wrinkles….As we say to the kids, “We want this to be the best 2 weeks of your year!”….We really do mean this!!!!

Tuesday morning we decided to have the kids divide up to only use the rings. The fields where we have lessons was just too wet and slippery to be safe…So the kids either rode in the morning or the afternoon….doing the activities that were scheduled for the afternoon if they did not ride. Of course the farm animals are always a huge hit, with that being the favorite non riding activity. A number of the girls also chose to Vault which is gymnastics on the moving horse. It is really good for their riding balance and coordination. This is a huge hit at camp too. Other choices were Stablemanagement to learn how to take the temperature, pulse and respiration of a horse, as well as how to bandage their legs. Another fun thing that we offered and kids loved as Pony Dress Up. We have two costume trunks for evening activities or Pony Dress up…These items get well used for sure.

Despite the wet conditions underfoot, all went well with the riding on both times. The afternoon kids did not get to ride for the full time due to impending weather…We were lucky evidently as we only got thunder and lightening for a while. Other towns near us also got huge hail. When I say we have had lousy weather, I am not just kidding!

The kids did barn chores in good time and we got them up to the lodge for dinner…It was a Shipwreck Dinner, meaning they had to eat with crazy utensils like spatulas and wire wisks….Silly as it sounds, the kids love this meal….Luckily, no one thinks of a food fight! They just giggle and giggle over having to eat with something other than a knife, fork and spoon! Homesickness seemed to be on the run…with everyone going to bed with ease this third night. I think they were tired!

Yesterday dawned bright and beautiful with a little breeze….Everyone rode with glee….we sorted out all the riding groups, horse matches and made sure all the tack was right for both the riders and the horses…Once that was done, we also made sure it was all correctly marked so that tack up time goes smoothly with no one losing their tack. The groups were finally right and we were happy with all the horse matches…..But you can see why its been hectic and why I haven’t written sooner!!!! I promise I was busy!

Yesterday afternoon, the kids got to choose their activities for a big list. The highlights were Carriage Driving (luckily, that is what I got to do with them!), more farm animal fun, pair jumping (where they try to jump over two jumps at the same time), catch riding (where they tack up their own horse and then switch horses 2 or 3 times over the course of the afternoon…a great way to get to ride a lot of horses), a trail ride and a Puissance (or high jump…they got to 3’9”…imagine that!!!)…So, again, everyone had a blast and loved doing special activities with horses that are not often included in general lesson programs…..No only do the kids love this, but so do the staff…with me being the ‘Biggest Kid’ of all…

Last night they played an uproarious game of Capture the Flag…Everyone got into this game as it is one of the Favorites….and, everyone trundled off to bed without a hitch….The homesick bug is gone and the smile bug has replaced it for sure!

Today, they are going to practice, practice and practice some more over the jumps and in a ‘hack class’, meaning to ride in a group following the directions of a ringmaster. This is such good practice for the show. Sadly, the weather report is more rain for this afternoon….We were going to do pictures of the girls and do their swimming tests….but with the rain coming, they are going to ride as long as they can….The show has been moved to the upper rings instead of out in the field for everyone’s safety.

This afternoon and/or evening, the staff will join with the kids and get everyone entered into the right classes. We will also organize the clothes that they will be showing in on Saturday. They will also get information about the show and show ring etiquette. They will be coached by their instructors who will help each rider stay organized and ride well. It is such a fun process and the kids get so excited!

I promise that I will write you tomorrow with the approximate time that each girl will be riding. We try to schedule her classes close together so you can see them all without having to spend the entire day here. We also invite you to come early and stay late!!! The more, the merrier! If you want to take her out for ice cream or an early dinner, that is fine too. We will be having a fun movie on Saturday night so she will not be missing something great like the Talent Show, which is scheduled for Sunday evening! That is an all camp favorite….

So, never a dull moment on the farm….I promise to write you tommorrow…The show itself starts at 9AM…We are not sure how many other people are coming. It is an informal “open show” with other farms invited. But…they have had the same bad weather all week so we are not sure how many people will come, especially if it rains…arghhh!!!

I end as I began by saying that I hope you are well. Your kiddos are great and such good little troopers. Each one is such a character in her own right. I surely do love being a camp director…however, I am hoping the weather behaves better for their sake. I will promise to be in touch tomorrow with approximate show times…

All my best to YOU….Fondly, Boo