Mystery Trip!

We've had a super busy few days! Tuesday was very warm, so we did our morning skill classes in the morning, went on trail rides in the afternoon, and then cooled down by going to the Mazomanie pool in the evening. It rained overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, which helped the temperature drop. We rode in our usual lessons on Wednesday morning, and then headed out of camp on our Mystery Trip yesterday afternoon! Our destination was revealed to be Mount Olympus in the Wisconsin Dells. We had a ton of fun playing in the water park and going on rides! Here are some pictures from our Mystery Trip - to see a larger view of any photograph, just click on it!

Waiting to go into the park.

Eating dinner at our pavilion.

Mary getting ready for a go-cart race!

Fiona driving her go-cart.

Getting helped after a spin-out.

Enjoying the swings!

More swings!

Buckling into the Cyclops roller coaster.

Waiting in line for Cyclops.

Can you spot the Hoofbeat campers on this coaster?

Getting hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner.

Waiting in line for go-carts!

Rose is ready to go!

A sign bade us farewell at the end of the day.

Beautiful Weather = Fun Day!

We were so happy to wake up this morning to cool temperatures, low humidity, and no rain!! We started our morning skill classes - each camper was given a morning schedule to follow the whole week comprised of a riding lesson, unmounted horse care class called Horse Science, and a choice between arts and crafts, mural, and outdoor adventures. In the afternoon, we played mounted games and got to know the horses a little better. After dinner, the cabins had some bonding time and then we played all-camp games!

Here are a few pictures from today. To see a larger view of any picture, just click on it.

Mounted games on Chief

Hanging out with Quincy

Kyra and Zippy playing the "Post Game".

Hoofroof 2 hanging out in the cabin.

Ready to ride!

Jess and I attempted to get some pictures of baby Quita. Mostly she wanted to cuddle with us, which resulted in a lot of really up-close pictures.

Quita enjoying scratchies from Jess.

Riding "sidesaddle" during mounted games.

Action shot during "stepping stones" relay.

Katie and Winston

Kelsey hearts Linus

Hoofroof 3/4 on their porch.

Laughing during "Honey, I Love You."

Happy to be at camp!!

Horseshoe 2 in the gazebo

Teaming up during a game of "Ninja".

Running during Ship and Sailors

"Hitting the deck" during Ships and Sailors.

Longbranch 1 hanging out at Trading Post.

Hoofroof 1 getting to know each other - hanging out in the cabin!

Longbranch 2 giving pedicures/manicures. :)

And the name is....

After a rigorous voting process... we finally have a name for our new horse. It was very exciting - while "Tucker" was winning in the online poll, "Simba" got more votes in camp. When we combined the votes, we discovered... a TIE! This morning at breakfast, we had a tie-breaker vote, with Tucker and Simba as the only two options. Click "read more" to find the winner!

Demonstrations Canceled!

Although the rain has now passed, the footing in the outdoor riding arenas is too slippery to be safe for use. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Check-out will proceed as normal, with the Trading Post open for check-out from 9:15 - 10:30. Thank you!

End of the Week; Demos Still Uncertain

We've had an interesting couple days here at Hoofbeat! We spent a lot of yesterday adjusting for the weather (see post below) so we were happy to not have any rain this morning. We rode for a shortened amount of time in our indoor arena since the outdoor rings were still quite muddy and slippery, and did the rest of our morning skills as usual.

In the afternoon, we got cabins cleaned up in anticipation of going home tomorrow, and then engaged in some "Cabin Wars"! Each cabin worked together to complete a scavenger hunt, a mounted obstacle course, a bridle race, and a puzzle challenge. We are wrapping the "wars" up now, so we'll know soon who the winner is!

The day was warm and turned sunny and breezy, which helped our arenas dry. As of this moment, we are hoping that we will still be able to hold our riding demonstrations tomorrow. If current conditions hold, we WILL be able to have demonstrations as scheduled. However, if we get any additional rain tonight, our saturated riding rings will probably give up the ghost and we will be forced to cancel demos for the safety of riders and horses. Currently the forecast is calling for rain but the radar is clear so unfortunately we're in a tough spot as far as predicting overnight conditions, and we apologize for any inconvenience this causes.

Here are some pictures from today. To see a larger view, just click on the image.

Finding just the right bead during arts and crafts.

Hanging out in Lower Longbranch.

Riding Winston in the indoor arena.

Completing a trotting exercise with Zeke.

Artsy photograph of Grace W which may or may not have been taken by accident. :)

Putting away a Western saddle.

RITs entertaining themselves by playing Quidditch in the barn aisle.

Riding Tinkerbell and Zippy in the indoor.

Trucking up the hill to the barn.

Teko waiting patiently at the fence for lunch.

Leah reaches the top of the hill and is ready to ride!

In the barn lounge waiting for horse assignments.

Getting ready to learn some Horse Science!

Zoe enjoying the shade of a tree.

Coming back from feeding the horses lunch.

Giving Bucky a flake of hay.

Fiona getting adjusted at the beginning of her riding lesson.

Olivia and her best buddy Lightning.

Requisite cat picture.