7 minute read
Summer Horse Camp
Story and Photography by Lauren Allen
Summer, when you are a kid, is heaven. Adults may revile the excess heat and humidity, the bugs, the thunderstorms, but kids don’t seem to notice. Freed from their busy school schedule, their time stretches luxuriously to fill the long days and the wonderful weeks of vacation. For parents who still must participate in the daily grind of work, summer day camp is an excellent way to occupy the kids.
For kids, camp offers opportunities for hanging out with friends, playing in water, practicing arts and crafts, and for some lucky children, the chance to spend some of that time with horses.
Equestrian day camps provide children with opportunities to ride and handle horses. Many campers may not have had much prior experience with this; for others, interactions with horses may have been restricted to structured riding lessons, where the horse is prepared, ridden and then deposited back in the stall within the allotted hour.
At camp, however, young riders often get to spend time playing with the horses: brushing, decorating them with ribbons and fingerpaint, riding bareback and just enjoying being close to them – even the oldest, most rickety equines get their share of love.
Margy Peterson, of Tweedberry Farm in Ridgeway, South Carolina, hosts a series of day camps each summer where small groups of kids enjoy swimming, playing in the creek, painting and crafts in addition to riding.
“I think that camp is a great opportunity for kids to get out in nature. They spend so much time inside, and with technology nowadays, that I think it is really important for them to get to slow down and just enjoy this wonderful earth.”
Ashley Haffey, who owns Haffey Dresssage in Troutman, North Carolina, runs five horse camps every summer, as well as during other school holidays or on teacher work days. The summer camps run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
On a typical day, her groups of four to eight children might start out with a riding lesson, followed by a half hour of horse care, an activity such as painting or crafts, a scavenger hunt, and a lesson about veterinary or farrier care, followed by lunch.
“My kids don’t clean stalls unless they really want to,” she adds with a laugh.
“I break the kids into groups and do team challenges, so it's fun," she continues.
"Sometimes I have younger groups that play unicorn bingo and build little shoe box horse stables. Some groups are more advanced and can ride and take care of the horses themselves.”
In addition, Haffey always stresses responsibility, including not just horse care, but finances. “Sometimes they have to earn monopoly money for their rides. Sometimes I give them Breyer horses that they have to keep and care for for the week.”
It does not always go according to plan, however. “Yes, last week, the kids failed to follow directions, and all the Breyer horses died,” she admits. “But the kids also really enjoy the camps because they get to do something real: help put hay out for the horses, or even take a horse to the vet.”
Learning to ride horses teaches kids how to be better partners. They learn to cooperate as well as to be assertive, to find balance, to have boundaries but to be kind—these skills are life lessons. Riding camp helps children grow as riders and as individuals, but also sets them among a group of others who already share the same inclination. Equestrians tend to share an uncommon grit and perseverance, in addition to an appreciation for horses.
Ashley Haffey says that many of her kids become good friends away from the camp as well and that they come back year after year until they become teenagers. “Then they fly away for a bit. But I am pretty sure they will be back when they are in their 20s.”
For children who have only had weekly or monthly riding lessons shoehorned into their schedule, equestrian camp can offer a chance to practice riding in a more concentrated way, sometimes even twice a day, and often on a series of different mounts. Immersion makes any skill stronger, and riders who attend camp have the gratification of seeing their abilities grow right in front of their eyes. Parents might be amazed at their progress and gains in confidence by the end of a week. Kids who may have had a passing interest in horses prior to camp may find afterwards that a lifelong flame has been kindled.
More than one parent has his or her own fond memories of horseback riding at camp, and by sending their children to summer riding camp they pass down a love that, even if it may ultimately be indulged only intermittently through the generations, is cherished nonetheless.
Logan Ryan Starnes
At the age of 13, Logan Ryan Starnes already has plenty of experience with winning. As the son of the Quarter Horse breeders and trainers Jay and Kristy Starnes of Manning, South Carolina, the young cowboy may have come by riding inevitably, but his mother says he didn’t exactly take to it at first. Apparently, his first pony, Bullwinkle, was a strong-willed type, and it wasn’t until Logan graduated to full-sized horses that he started to enjoy riding.
Logan began his show career in the Leadline division at American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA) shows when he was only 4 years old. He rode a mare named Certainly a Classic, also known as Cici. At 6, he moved up to Walk-Trot, finishing third at the prestigious All American Quarter Horse Congress in Ohio.
“His legs did not come past the saddle pad,” says his mother, Kristy. “One of the judges said afterwards that you could always hear where Logan was because there was a wave of clucking following him around the arena.”
The following year, Logan started riding Certainly Flatlined, a gelding bred and trained by the Starnes family, whose barn name, Peter, often became “Perfect Peter.” On Peter, Logan won the Walk-Trot division at the Congress in 2017, and the pair have been showing and winning ever since.
“He is a special horse; he is definitely a unicorn,” says Kristy, and Logan concurs, affirming that Peter is his favorite. He has won the 11-and-under Western Pleasure with him three times; he’s won the 18-and-under Team Tournament Western Pleasure, and has placed in Open futurity classes with him against adults. Logan will be showing Peter this year at the Youth World Show, coming up soon in Oklahoma City, where he has twice been Reserve Champion in the 13-and-under division.
This year Logan is also riding and showing a 3-year old named Strike 3, barn name Simon, in the Western Pleasure Futurity classes. His winnings so far have placed him among the top 35 Open Non Pro riders in the country. Strike 3 was also bred and raised by the Starnes family, and is out of the same mare, A Certain Illusion, who is a sister of the Walk-Trot horse that Logan began showing with.
Jay and Kristy Starnes ride and train about 16 horses and breed about six to ten foals a year. Logan helps work with the babies, and does all of his own training with his parents on the ground to coach him. He also plays lacrosse at his school, Laurence Manning Academy, and has earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do as the youngest ever in his program. So many accomplishments and barely into his teens: The future certainly does look bright for Logan Starnes.
