Up On The Ridge: Beginning of Adopt-a-Horse Week!

We've had an exciting few days of camp! Although the heat indices have been in the mid/upper 90s for the past few days, we've still had a good time and tried to keep people and horses as cool as possible.

On Monday afternoon, we had a gymkhana where campers could sign up for mounted games of their choice, such as a magazine relay, obstacle course, and trail class, as well as a few unmounted activities like the knowledge bowl. We were all quite warm by the end of the day, so we cooled off by going down to the Mazomanie pool in the evening.

It was quite warm again on Tuesday, so we chose to forgo saddles and instead ride bareback - much more comfortable for the horses. When they weren't riding, the campers helped cool down the horses by giving them baths - the horses were grateful for the cooling water. We also had some water relay races set up on the athletic field, though the relay races quickly dissolved into water fights - they felt great in the hot afternoon! In the evenings, each camper groomed and spent some time with her "adopted" horse, and then posed for an individual picture with her horse. These pictures will be sent home with the campers on Saturday.

We went on our "mystery trip" Wednesday afternoon. Our first stop was Wingait Farm, a breeding and training facility specializing in Morgan horses. They gave us a tour and introduced us to their horses, including some very impressive stallions! We departed from Wingait and continued on to Peck's Farm Market in Spring Green. At Peck's, we got to meet some very different horses - a pair of draft horses who took us on a horse-drawn wagon ride. Everyone also had a great time exploring the petting zoo - Peck's has lots of deer, goats, rabbits, chickens, and pheasants, as well as some larger animals such as bison, donkeys, a pot-bellied big, and a calf. Everyone was especially enthralled by the goats. In the fall, Peck's has a corn maze and pumpkins!

It was good to get out of camp during the hottest part of the day, and when we returned to Hoofbeat, we had rest hour, ate dinner and then went up to the barn for some evening rides. The campers had some choice time with their riding classes - some classes rode their horses out on the airstrip to watch the sun go down while others stayed in the arena to play mounted games or have choice time.

Here are some pictures from the past few days. To see a larger view of any picture, just click on it. Tomorrow is forecast to be one of the hottest days this summer, with a heat index at or over 100, so we're working on a schedule which will be safe for both people and horses.

Counselors are ready to begin water relays.

In the midst of the water relay.

Plotting a water fight.

Playing a team water balloon toss.

Leading Pepper to the ring for bareback.

Waiting patiently for bareback horses.

Due to the high heat, we modified our "pants and boots at the barn" rule to allow shorts and boots - Hoofroof 3/4 shows off this stylish look.

Teagan and Tigger are ready for bareback.

Leading Skye to Ring III.

Sienna and Scout enjoying the shade.

Hannah demonstrates good position while riding Winston.

By late afternoon, everyone wanted a head dunking in the water supply.

Well water is COLD!

Preparing horses for the adopted horse photo-shoot.

From the "blooper reel".

Two year old Morgan stallion impresses us with his presence.

The horses were very sweet and welcoming. The barn dog, Jake, was also excited about getting lots of attention.

Hadley petting a mare while others look in the stall.

Watching a saddleseat riding demonstration on one of the horses by farm staff.

This facility donated Tucker, the newly named Morgan, to Hoofbeat Ridge. We got a chance to meet Tucker's mother (not pictured) who is a sweet school horse at Wingait.