Wednesday July 21st, 2010

Dearest Pony Farm Families, One and All!!!!

Top of the morning to you, on this most beautiful day. I am sitting here getting ready to go to camp to greet all your precious ones, watching the birds flitting around deciding what seed is going to be their breakfast this morning…while I watch Bravo, our big Belgian, wander around my lawn, doing a good job at being a lawn mower….a riding one at that! I swear he gets lonesome for company and just wiggles the fence enough to get out and go a’visitin’ He never goes in the road or does anything bad except wait for the kids to come down for morning hug. It is getting to be quite a routine for him now….one that suits me just fine….a cup of coffee, the sun peeking out over the hill side, my dogs at my feet and a horse poking his nose in my door. What a way to start the day!!!! I am the most blessed of people….thanks to having your daughters to enjoy…and enjoy them we are!

I believe my last blog to you was all about the horse show on Saturday, the fun things we did together on Sunday, and the plans for the Family Exhibition on pick-up day…So, I will now begin with our day on Monday and go from there. I do hope you enjoy these blogs and seeing what we do at camp with your kids…..Do let me know if any one of you out there is actually reading this! Also, let me know if this is what you would like to read…or should it be more factual and shorter???? Kris always tells me that I go on toooo long but I love recounting all that we do here at Pony Farm….so what do you think???? Fun, helpful or too detailed????

Monday dawned a little gray with predictions of isolated but pretty heavy thunderstorm activities. So, we kept all the activities close to home in case of lightening. We did lessons on Monday morning because we made several horse switches due to the horse show….some wanted more of a challenge…some wanted to get an easier horse to learn to jump higher….we also moved a couple of groups around to even out the numbers…all in all, it is always good to re-group once all the staff is on and organized. Lessons went well, and then the kids came up for lunch to sign up for afternoon activities….Here is where the fun begins…Their choices were Team Jumping, Catch Riding, Swimming and small animals, Gymnastic/Grid Jumping, Bareback, two trail rides, finishing up Arts and Crafts started on Sunday, Greenies (the lesser experienced horses, ridden by the more experienced kids), and Vaulting or Gymnastics on the moving horse. The only hard part for the kids was that they wanted to do all the activities!!!

In the end, they did choose one…and off they went for a glorious afternoon of fun and easy living…That night, they played one of their favorite games “Counselor Quest”. The counselors all get assigned a certain number of points which relate to how long they have been here…thus they know the best and hardest spots to hide so no one finds them!!!! This game goes on until all counselors are caught and everyone troops back to the lodge for our Good Night Candlelight Circle….and sweet dreams of the next day…..

Tuesday was slated to be Gymkhana Day at PF…..The morning was all games done on the flat, meaning without any jumping. We had everything from bobbing for apples, sit a buck, ride a penny, musical stalls, relay races, soda burp relay, eat a marshmallow and whistle, string reins ( where the girls used yarn or thread to steer their mounts, obviously needing to rely heavily on their voice and seat to help control their horses)….others did Dizzy Bat, Sack Races, Barrel Racing and bareback relays….in short, each group had a ball….not one fall off, one tear or one pony jerked in the mouth….They were super about caring for their beloved four footed best friend.

Right after lunch, my Mom, all 88 years old, came to move the baby chicks to their new digs….A whole flock of children waited for her to arrive….and the Great Chicken Roundup got started. First, they had to catch the mother banty chickens who were fierce about guarding their babies…They had to have their wings clipped so they could not fly out of the new pen…Then, all the babies needed to be caught, gently of course, as they are so little. They almost look like bumble bees, all fluff and fuzz….Once all the moms accounted for their chicks, everyone quieted down and started pecking in the dirt and playing in the sunshine…The kids were thrilled. Mom was thrilled and the chicks were finally in a good safe and healthy place….Well done, ladies.

After a good lunch and rest hour, the afternoon of Gambler’s Choice began. Again, this is a real favorite. The kids and staff for each level build a course of jumps or obstacles that are of varying difficulty…some are spooky, some of easy, some are high and some are just funny looking. They then assign point values for each obstacle or jump, the harder ones obviously having the higher numbers….The kids then all went to tack up…We used four rings and doubled up the groups so they were jumping at about the right height for each level.

One by one, the girls each planned their course….They were given two minutes to complete as many jumps as possible, choosing their own line. The ones with the highest points were the winners….To my surprise and delight, they voted not to make it a competition with one winner….they just wanted to have fun and not worry about prizes….

We had no mishaps….no serious spooks on the part of the horses and all good planning on the part of the kids….So, the afternoon ended with glee and lots of good riding took place. It is one thing to look pretty on a horse….we aim to have them look nice while having an effective position that really can be used to ride the horse!!!

Dinner and an inside game took place last night with Becky and all Senior Staff in charge….I am happy to tell you that I was honored to be at my own parents’ 60th Anniversary Celebration Dinner…..With corsage and black tie…a photographer, champagne and the whole family gathered, we had a great time celebrating my most remarkable parents. It was fun to get dressed up and eat ‘grown up food”!

Today, we are going to do some more trail rides and some lessons so that we are ready to show you some cool stuff when you arrive on Saturday…..but this afternoon is when the fun ‘extras’ really begin as these are the specialties….Riding dressage, riding Western, driving the minis, Vaulting, learning to lunge and do natural horsemanship, to name just a few….I am dressed in my cowboy hat and boots to make the western thing fun….The driving equipment is all ready to roll, and we should be ready to give you a great demo on Saturday….

It is hard to believe that we only have a few more days with your girls…With Cascino Night of games tonight…swimming with the horses, an all day rid,e and more driving, it is going to fly by….The jury is still out on the Camping Trip….the weather is not being very cooperative…Having kids in tents under trees with ponies tied up on the mountain side when along comes a thunder and lightening storm does not conjure up a pretty picture in my mind’s eye! I bet you agree!!!! So…we will wait and see.

I hope you are having a great day….I also hope you are glad you sent your kiddo to Pony Farm. We are having a blast and wish this session would just go on and on,.

If I don’t get to write again, we will see you on Saturday between 9:30 and 10AM….we have a great show in the planning for you.,

Stay well and know that we are taking good care of your kiddo(s)!

Warmly, Boo