Sad Goodbyes...and Details!

Friday July 18th, 2008

Dearest Pony Farm Families,

We are in MOURNING that this session is coming to an end. We are NOT happy that you will be picking up your daughters this weekend. They have simply and surely been terrific. What fantastic young women you have created. You should be so very proud. They are gung ho when it is time to go, they are peaceful when it is time for peace, they are sincere and forthright when it is time to focus, they are fun and silly when it is time for frivolity. I can not tell you enough how much the staff, Kris and I love these girls. I can not imagine that any session could top this one! Thank you indeed for sharing them with us.

Well, we have had quite a week. First of all, the weather Gods must love these girls because we have really had idyllic weather…just the right temperature to ride and be comfy, swim and be refreshed, and sleep nicely at night. It has been sunny every day so that we could do all the things we love to do….Here goes our litany of super things.

I left off as we were heading off to our camping trip. I love this trip and took a ton of pictures for a future slideshow that will be on our website. We trooped off with 17 girls, three counselors, five horses and moi with my two dogs. Sleeping bags and pillows, bathing suits and shorts was all we needed. Our food was packed and the sun was shining.

The campers were great about putting up the three tents. More of the girls in this group had been camping so tents were not foreign to them and the three tents went up in jig time. By the time that the riders arrived with the horses, camp had been set up. We tied up the dear horses who seem to love the adventure of the trip. They dutifully stand tied to a tree all night without a murmur. They munch on their hay and grain while the kids lavish attention on them. It is a most delightful picture I want to tell you…with the sun streaming down through the trees, the girls all healthy and happy, and the horses with shiny coats and ears forward….What a way to go…It sure is a tough job but someone has got to do it…and I am delighted it is ME!!!!

After a swim in the mountain stream with really cold, clear water, we had a nice big fire for everyone to warm up. The swimming is a big hit because they can slide off a smooth rock which is above a small water fall. They adore doing this and look like little mermaids sitting on the rocks waiting their turn to slide. The water is truly cold but they scream and holler but then go right back in. Youth is a wonderful thing!

With the fire burning bright and the horses stocked up on grain and hay, it was time to chow down on dinner. With mighty sticks, we roasted hot dogs galore. With chips, carrots, cold slaw, and the trusty old PB&J for those who didn’t like regular or vegetarian hot dogs, we all filled our tummies. S’mores followed with gobs of chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers. To everyone’s credit, they were very careful with the sticks and the food. Nothing was wasted and everyone ate their fill.

I was then treated to a most glorious concert. The girls and two staff members all gathered around the fire and sang their hearts out. We usually tell stories, mostly about riding and horses, of course, because I limit the ghost stories so no one gets too scared. However, the right combination of girls and voices stole the show with their singing. We heard every Disney movie’s theme song and then some. With “This Land is Your Land”, to “Taps”, to “On My Honor”, we heard them all for about 2 hours. I was truly entranced by the girls’ voices. So clear and pure and bright…Wow, I loved that time by the fire. I also felt like I was doing the right thing and in the right place….It just seems so right to be doing these kinds of things as the world spins out of control. I know I should worry more about what is happening in Iraq or with the economy and the gas prices, but I get such hope from these girls. Watching them grow up so beautifully gives me great hope for the future for us all. With so much right in the world, how can we go wrong!?!

Meanwhile, ‘back at the ranch’, the kids who stayed home did their barn chores in a snap. The staff told me that they got done quicker with 17 less girls than usual. Shows what a small group can accomplish. With 60 plus horses here, that is no mean feat! They had a great time with Kris back at the farm doing Casino Night…a variety of games with cards or game boards. I guess they had quite a time with Spoons…..Sounded like fun but I think I got the better end of the stick!

The next morning dawned clear and bright again. All the horses stayed put throughout the night and the girls had a delightful sleep. I never sleep better than by this rushing stream. With the birds singing in the trees and the creek going by, it is a perfect symphony of nature’s noise. I sleep like a baby and wake up rearin’ to go.
We cooked a huge breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs and sausage with OJ to drink. Then, it was time to clean up camp and swim again….The girls were also eager to repeat the Evening Ride with a Morning Ride….As I say, they even wake up happy and ready to go!!!! The clean up and pack up went like a breeze and off we went for the day.

All the girls got home with all the gear and tents by about 11AM, leaving them time to unpack, put their fresh laundry away, and go for a swim in the pool to clean up before lunch. Everyone was pretty ready for rest hour when the time came.

Tuesday afternoon and all of Wednesday, the girls practiced for the Parents’ Exhibition….We have some pretty fun Specialties to show you. They will be divided up between the High Jump (WE do have CPR to help you through this!!!!), Small courses on the Outside Course, Big Courses on the OC….Games in the ring, Natural Horsemanship, Vaulting and Carriage Driving. We are excited for you to see the breadth and depth of the things these girls have been able to do at camp. We hope you like the exhibition planned and put on by your daughters!!!!

On Tuesday night and Wednesday night, the kids played Capture the Flag and did Counselor Quest…both of which I think I have already explained in the last email. On Wednesday afternoon, everyone cleaned the tack…with sponges and saddle soap, the tack was most happy to be cared for by the campers. We sure do use this tack a lot and it was great to see the leather all clean and oiled.

Yesterday, we were slated to go swimming with the horses….Much to everyone’s disappointment, including mine, we were unable to take the girls. We usually swim in a pond across the street on my brother’s land. We have been plagued by this blue green algae…It was bad enough in other ponds and lakes that it has been on the news. We are not sure what makes people sick….whether it be a skin rash or a stomach thing…but we decided to err on the side of caution. We did not take them much to all of our disappointment. The girls were great about it and happily went off to swim in the pool, play one last time with the farm animals, and to do carriage driving with me. We drove 4 rigs and had a ball giving everyone a chance to drive through cones and at the trot. This was good practice for our All Day Ride & Drive that is taking place this morning. We had such fun and the ponies and horses were so good. Wait until you see the kids drive on Saturday….They love driving as much as I do, I think!

Last night we took some time for each girl to write a letter to the people that help camp happen. We wrote letters to people who have loaned or leased or given us horses for the summer or forever. We also wrote the people who have done good things for us…everyone from the Camp Nurse to the lady who comes to clean three times a week to my Mom who came to do stories, to the judges who worked at the show. The girls took these letters very seriously. They wrote a first draft which the staff and I checked for spelling. They then did the final letter on farm stationary. The letters were charming and so heartfelt. I am proud to send them out under the farm name!

We had to hurry through our evening routine of singing and Good Night Circle because everyone took such care with their letters. However, true to form, the girls went right to bed and had lights out in a jiffy. Can you see why we are sad to have them leave!!!

Today is our All Day Ride and Drive with a picnic lunch. I adore this day…However, it is going to be quite a challenge as a record number of campers have signed up….38 to be exact!!! That is quite a procession heading down the road. We are going to break up everyone into a driving group (with the least experienced riders coming with us) and then two riding groups with longer routes and with places to canter. We are all going to end up in a big field and tie the horses to the trees on the edge of the field. Kris is going to bring us our lunch so it can stay cool in the refrig until its time to munch. It is perfect weather for this All Day Adventure.

When we return, we are going to have the girls start packing, take showers and write their Candlelight. This is a piece about what was most special this session. The littler kids tend to write about how much they love their pony. The older ones however write yards about their friends, their horse and their favorite memories. We usually have pretty many tears of joy during this wonderful closing ceremony. We will all sit around the pool by candlelight…We have the torches lit and the candles burning bright. Each room has their own little floating candle, complete with flowers, that they launch into the pool. While the candles float, the girls read their Candlelight writing. It is a most beautiful picture as each girl is dressed in a nice dress and with her hair all combed. Smiling, shining faces abound here and it is quite a sight to behold.

After this marvelous ceremony, the girls will troop off to bed for their last night of this session. Tomorrow will dawn bright again, according to the weather channel. We will hope to have you arrive at 9:30 to be ready to see your daughter(s) in action. The actual exhibition will begin with demonstration lessons conducted by the riding staff. One staff person will speak with you as the other one conducts the lesson. This is the perfect time to ask questions about your daughter’s riding progress. After the lesson portion of the demo, we will move to the specialties….You should just follow your daughter to her next activity. We hope you will be impressed and delighted with her abilities with horses….

Following the riding, the girls will untack and cool out their ponies & horses. They will then feed them and come up for lunch. During that time, it would be great if you want to check out with Kris. She will return meds at that time and let you know if you owe anything on the horse show or for laundry. We will also have our Camp Portraits ready for you at the same time. Wait until you see the pictures...They are simply great. I hope you will think this is a real momento of your daughter’s summer.

We will offer refreshments and desserts for your enjoyment. Please do remember to bring a picnic for you and your daughter. During the picnicking on the front lawn, we encourage you to speak with all the staff and Kris & myself to answer any questions or to hear about your individual daughter’s time here at camp. This is such a great way to end the session with us all being together.

You can plan on leaving about 1:30 ish….We certainly invite you to linger. I am sure there will be lots of good byes and hugs during this time.

I sincerely hope that my Blogs have been helpful in letting you know not only when to come but also what we did. I love writing about all the fun that we have. I hope it helps you to feel like a fly on the wall here at Pony Farm. I also hope you will consider joining us for one of our family weekends during the year. We offer two fall and spring Family Weekends…boys are invited as well. We also offer two Mother Daughter Weekends and one Father Daughter Weekend…I am happy to say that the Father Daughter weekend is getting so popular that we may need to go to two weekends for that as well. We love seeing you during the year and staying in touch. These weekends feature as much or as little riding as you desire. No forced marches here. It is perfectly fine to sit on the porch and read a good book while your daughter rides. We also offer lots of shopping opportunities as well as simple farm events….a true return to the olden days here at the farm. We will be doing a pretty major ‘face lift’ of the lodge, so we hope you will want to join us to see the exciting upgrades we are making.

So, good bye until tomorrow. I look forward to greeting you all. Until then, rest assured that we are loving your daughter and having a great time with her. Thank you for sharing her with us. We all have truly adored this session and every single girl.

Most warmly,


Boo

PS….One final note….Several of you have called or emailed me about possibly leasing or buying a horse from the farm. We do have a number of horses that have been sent to PF to be sold. We also are happy to free lease a number of our horses. We do not need all the horses we have so we are glad to have some go home with their campers…A win win for everyone. If you are interested in any of the above, please speak to Jessy who will be there tomorrow, Kris or myself. We are happy to tell you the details.