Week Four at Hoofbeat Ridge!

Week Four

Hello! Thank you all for a week that we wish was longer... we had so much fun getting to know you all! We hope you enjoy some photos from our week as well as some descriptions of what we did! Have a great rest of your summer!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riding

One of the highlights of each day was the groups’ riding class. We used our wonderful indoor riding arena and were able accomplish many fun things! Each day, we practiced Hoofbeat’s 5 S’s, which are starting, stopping, steering, spacing, and “squirreling” off your horse to dismount. We practiced these S’s every class with activities such as cutting across the middle of our ring, halting our horses, and even asking our horses to trot! Our instructors noticed a great improvement in every camper’s confidence and riding ability from Wednesday to Friday. Whether riding a spunky, little pony like Batman or a gentle giant like King, they’re all leaving Hoofbeat as true equestrians! All the campers should be very proud of what they learned this week. J

Horse Science

This week’s Horse Science was fabulous as well! We started off the week talking about horse psychology: how horses communicate with us, how they behave with one another, and their social dynamics in the herd. We even got to observe some of this behavior ourselves! On Thursday, we discussed horse health, including the different parasites that might infect a horse. This is very crucial to horse health! Finally, on Friday, we plan to learn all about horse food and nutrition. We learned so much about horses this week. Thank you all for your enthusiasm in Horse Science!

Horse Fun

What would horse camp be without a little “horse fun”? We began the week with some “tack races,” learning all about the saddles and bridles we use to ride horses and how to put them together! The next day, we got to explore the Hoofbeat barn through a barn scavenger hunt. Campers had a blast racing to solve the clues! On Friday, we plan to play a guessing game: campers guess the horse based on zoomed-in pictures that might show their foot, their forelock, or just some markings on their back! As always, Horse Fun was great this week!

Skill Surprise

We had so much fun in our mystery “Skill Surprise” class this week! On Monday, we spent some time hanging out with and learning about the Hoofbeat goats: Vanilla, Smokey, and Oreo! It was a nice, relaxing way to start the week. On Tuesday, we created our very own “nature booklets,” making art with leaves, sticks, rocks, and other natural items. Ask your camper to show you what they made in their booklet! For the last day of camp, we plan to play a camp-favorite game of Epic Spoons. In this game, campers have to play a card game, then compete to find spoons hidden throughout the Dining Hall! What a fun week of activities!

Arts and Crafts

We had such a creative week in Arts and Crafts! We started the week strong, making some “Lady Liberty” crowns with paper plates, patterned paper, markers, and more. Thursday was our special “tie-dye” day. We had a blast making colorful designs on our shirts, unfolding them to see the pattern underneath! We love seeing them all hanging up on the clothesline after camp! On Friday, we plan to make and decorate our own paper plate masks. Thank you for such a fun, creative week in Arts and Crafts, everyone!

Sports

Our Sports class was fantastic this week! On Monday, we played some get-to-know-you games, made skits, and challenged ourselves to fold a parachute without stepping on the ground. We even competed in teams to see who could do it fastest! The next day, we got our energy out with a few rounds of “Revenge Tag,” as well as a game of “Lucky Leap.” Ask your camper to show you what that means! For our last day, we hope to play some giant “crab soccer” in which campers must move a giant soccer ball while crawling around like crabs! Thanks for a great week, everyone!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------