Description

DATES: August 4, 5, 6, 7

TIME: 10:00AM – 3:00PM

AGES: 8-18

THIS CAMP IS FOR: Beginner, Novice, or Intermediate riders under the age of 18 interested in learning basic horsemanship skills, western riding, learning gaming events and trail riding. These camps always have a great mix of total beginners and long-time students that have done many camps and everything in-between! Everyone is welcome to join us in our camps – we always prioritize making sure that all riders are always learning, being challenged and trying new things! This camp is a lot of fun even for those that have ridden with us before – we always try to challenge our riders, even if they have been to multiple horse camps!! The horse camp kiddos with more experience often have the opportunity to mentor and help the less experienced campers. When weather permits we try to make sure we include several trail rides during camp once all campers are comfortable on the horse we paired them with. No matter what we are focusing on when working on riding skills all the kids agree that the trail rides are one of their favorite parts of horse camp.

SPACE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED to allow for a personalized experience for all riders and for us to be able to carefully match each horse camp kiddo up with a horse that will best fits their personality and level of riding ability. Our website will automatically show as “sold out” as soon as we hit our maximum number of spots available for that week.

PLEASE NOTE you will see that we have fewer horse camp weeks on our schedule than we have had in previous years and you MUST secure payment to confirm a spot in one of our horse camps. in past years our summer horse camps have filled up 6+ months in advance, so if there is still a spot open for a 2025 horse camp grab it while you can!

This camp is geared toward TONS of hands-on and one-on-one learning opportunities! We are spending the next few months finishing making updates to our barns and arenas and revamping our curriculum for our 2025 horse camps to be sure that we are providing the best service possible, and we are so excited for another great season of camps!

In addition to working on updating and upgrading our barn and indoor arena, we are making changes to our outdoor arena and are working on establishing brand new riding trails in parts of our property that we haven’t even used for the trails before, so we are excited to hit the trails in 2025 with both our new riders and our returning veterans because there will be some new and exciting aspects for everyone. We are very blessed to already have a couple of miles of trails right on the property through our trails, fields, and pastures and it will be exciting to have new trails for everyone to explore. Kiddos will start out each horse camp day learning about the day-to-day chores that need to be done in order to care for the horses and other animals on the farm and by taking care of the horse that has been assigned to them. They will be experiencing what it really is like to own and care for a horse – beyond just the horseback riding portion! They will all work together to prepare stalls for their horses by cleaning them, filling hay nets, filling water buckets, preparing grain, and learning how to keep the barn a safe environment for all animals. It’s a true day at the ranch doing all the things we do every day! Once they have finished caring for their horse and the other animals around the barn, they will help bring the horses in and take a quick lunch break and then they will spend the rest of the camp day hands-on horses grooming, tacking up and riding their assigned horse. Each day will build upon what the kids learned from the day before, with more and more riding time being added each day as they get more experienced and comfortable with each task.

It would be very hard to find another horse camp around that offers more horseback riding time than we do and very few camps will assign each camper their very own horse! Most camps have campers taking turns riding and sharing horses. We don’t. We want our kiddos to have the most fun and fulfilling horse camp possible. We are also proud of how SAFE and EXPERIENCED our horses are and that enjoy their job of taking care of your kiddo whether they are riding in our indoor arena, outdoor arena, or out on our wooded trails and fields!

Not only will each camper get the opportunity to ride, learn, and have fun, but they will also be able to enjoy spending fun days on a farm that is home to many horses, ponies, goats, chickens, ducks, donkeys a mule and a little group of pigs!

Our main riding instructor is Enchanted Hollow Stables owner Mary Sansevere. She offers a lifetime of horse ownership and riding experience in a variety of disciplines and is also very experienced in teaching and coaching children to adults. We also have other multiple experienced instructors that come in to assist Mary during our camps in addition to a small group of camp leaders who are teenagers with years of experience under their own belts. Many of our camp leaders began as young horse camp kiddos themselves that have continued to ride with us and that have grown into experienced, responsible, knowledgeable teenagers that enjoy mentoring and helping new riders. Having all those extra eyes, ears and hands available at our horse camps enables us to provide as much one-on-one attention and assistance as needed to every rider at our camps.

We have so many cute animals in addition to the great horses in our program!!

 

Miniature horses, dogs, cats, chickens, guinea hens, mini pigs, dwarf goats, donkeys a little mini mule and one friendly turkey!

We require ASTM / SEI certified equestrian riding helmets to be worn in all riding lessons and horse camps.

You can purchase a helmet at any Tractor Supply, Runnings, Fleet Farm, Dover Saddlery, and most country stores as well. We really like the brands Troxel and Ovation for their quality and affordability, but really whatever is most comfortable for your child and certified will work! They are much safer and designed for higher impact than any other type of helmet. We do have a couple on hand that kids can borrow but cannot guarantee that we will have enough or one that fits your child, and a properly fitted helmet is required for all riding activities. It’s best for your child’s safety that you get them their own so you can ensure that they have a properly fitted helmet!

Please print out our waiver and bring it signed on the day of the camp.

WHAT TO BRING:

• Waiver printed and signed
• Sturdy boot or shoe with a heel to ride in
• Rain boots, just in case it gets cold and muddy!
• Old jeans or riding pants that you don’t mind getting dirty!
• Extra layers (sweatshirt, jacket, extra socks, gloves, etc.)
• Warm/waterproof jacket in case it is rainy and we are outside
• ASTM / SEI Certified Riding Helmet
• Lunch
• Water Bottle
• Snack
• A good attitude!

WHAT TO EXPECT:

EQUINE EDUCATION: We will take time to discuss equine feed and nutrition, how much hay a horse eats per day, and other types of food horses eat and need. We also teach fun and interesting facts about horses and talk a lot about all the responsibilities of horse ownership.

FARM CHORES: They will learn about cleaning horse stalls top to bottom, re-filling water buckets, re-filling hay nets, and preparing grain and supplements for each horse and pony for the next feeding. There are always chores to be done and we include the kiddos in with everything that needs to be done. Chores will vary from day-to-day because that’s real life on a farm.

GROOMING: They will learn to properly use each grooming tool and groom a horse from top to bottom and learn about horse health and why grooming is important.

RIDING EDUCATION:

• They will learn (or review if they already know) how to tack up their horse or pony.
• How to get on and off your horse safely.
• Asking your horse or pony to stop, go, turn and back up.
• Learning an “emergency stop” and the situations that may require it.
• Working on the gait transitions. Walk, trot, canter (if ready), and whoa.
• Going over/through obstacles
• Fun obstacles will also be set up to ride over and through in order to challenge their hand and eye coordination and bond more with their horse or pony.
• We will set up games and activities to be played from horseback to promote skill development while also having fun!
• Trail riding (weather permitting)