4-Week Girls Kick Off Session 2 With a BANG!
Session 2 is well under way here at EVR and we couldn’t be having more fun! Last Friday we said goodbye to session 1 and the girls mounted up during check out and went for a super long trail ride! They all sang at the tops of their lungs the entire time – everything from Disney classics to the Backstreet Boys. After everyone else left they had all of camp to themselves and spent the afternoon relaxing, enjoying some much needed downtime. That evening they had a barbecue and had a special spa and movie night.
A guest speaker came to visit on Saturday! Our farrier, Walter, came to talk to the girls about his job as an articulated equine skeleton specialist. He even brought along one of his real horse skeletons! After lunch they took a field trip to Farm Camp to meet all of the animals there. Sheep, goats, cows, alpacas, kittens, chickens, a llama named Batman… any farm animal that you can think of, they probably have! In the evening the girls were super excited to do the high ropes course for a second time.
Sunday brought a new wave of campers and friends to the East Valley! But before the arrivals, we took the girls for a special treat: breakfast at the Blue Hill Lodge in Claryville. So many pancakes! The girls were reunited with friends from years past and excited to meet all of the new faces, too.
The riding continued on Monday after a relaxing weekend of rest for the horses and the girls settled right back into the swing of things. Their ground lesson covered all sorts of veterinary care, giving them the basic knowledge needed when working in the world of horses. The evening brought a camp-wide SUPER SECRET DANCE PARTY!
Tuesday brought a special guest presenter: our very own JENNIFER STOVER! Although the girls have known her for years, they rarely get to see her true wealth of knowledge and experience with horses. She brought a particular horse to visit and demonstrated how to work through difficult behavioral traits in the round pen. Watching her in the round pen is truly inspiring and left the girls excited for their round pen experience later in the week. Evening program was a soccer game that left the girls exhausted but with smiles on their faces.
Wednesday was HOTHOTHOT! Instead of swimming, the girls chose to go on a cool, shady trail ride in our beautiful mountains to maximize their time in the saddle. Their morning was spent learning all about how to lunge a horse and what judges would look for in a horse’s gaits in the dressage world. It cooled off in the evening and we were able to play ULTIMATE SICKO BALL! This is a game that has been played at Frost Valley for many years, and always a favorite among the campers and staff.
Today the girls got the chance to “join up” with a horse in the round pen. Join up is a training technique that we use to forge a bond between horse and rider, establishing the person as the dominant member of the pair but always maintaining trust. The afternoon brought an extended lesson in the arena working on drill team techniques to prepare for the upcoming performance! Later tonight the girls will help facilitate our staff demo by helping some of our new campers understand the ways in which different riding styles can bring out different qualities in certain horses. They will use the knowledge that they picked up from last session’s demo to educate the newcomers.
We love EVR! <3
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