So I spent all of last week helping at a horse camp in Emmett, ID. It was a blast! I was like a camp counsler, but at horse camp with young kids I was obviously a Wrangler. These little buck-a-roos kept me on my toes!
The camp was done through the Ride for Joy therapuetic horse riding program in Emmett. Kids who regurlarly ride with Ride for Joy got to go to camp along with their siblings. The ablities of these kids physically and mentally ranged quite a bit. Most kids at the camp had autism. However, all kids shared the qualities of a love for horses, making new friends, and having huge imaginations. My one camper brought her imaginary horse, Lighening, to camp each day, my other camper had me watching his imaginary video games on YouTube on his imaginary purple computer, and I was given at least one imaginary pet. Their imaginations were the hardest part for me to keep up with, but I loved their creativity and sweetness a lot!
These were my campers riding!
They were all so wonderful to look after and work with for the week. I had the pleasure of wrangling the three yellow campers. They were 6, 10, and 17 years old-2 girls and 1 boy. Two of them have ridden with Ride for Joy over the years while the one, to my understanding, got to ride for the first time ever on the first day of camp. So cool! She was so brave, didn't have any second thoughts, listened well, rode well, and improved tons in three quick days! She also was never ready to get off at the end of her ride to go to lunch. She was amazing!
Besides riding horses, the kiddos got to learn stable managment, groom horses, do relay races, and read with therapy dogs. All these activities were super cool and fun!
How far each kid came over the course of three days and their happy smiles were the two bests parts of being a Wrangler! I am also enjoying all the imaginary gifts my campers gave me. :) Check out Ride for Joy's website or check out Ride for Joy on Facebook to see camp pictures from 2012!
http://www.rideforjoy.org/
