Christmas Camp Day 3- Thursday

This past day has been a lot of fun at Hoofbeat.

We woke up this morning to enjoy a delicious breakfast of french toast and sausage! After breakfast we had morning rotations which included a riding rotation, horse science, a scavenger hunt, and horse movies. The girls had another riding lesson in the indoor arena, and were able to help choose which horse they would like to ride. The horse science rotation was grooming and many of the groups enjoyed bringing our ponies Minnie Mouse and Diego into the warm barn lounge to groom. It was really entertaining to look into the barn lounge and see ponies inside. The scavenger hunt was a lot of fun and sent the campers around camp to find various items on their list.

After enjoying a warm lunch we were off to the Kalahari indoor water park in the Wisconsin Dells. The girls enjoyed the large variety of things to do at the water park- favorites included the lazy river, wave pool, and the large variety of water slides. The girls received five dollars of spending money to spend at the water park, many girls purchased ice cream and other snacks.

After a long day of riding horses and waterslides we headed back to camp for some needed rest! What a wonderful day!

Here are some photos from our trip to the Kalahari!

Christmas Camp- Tuesday and Wednesday

We've been having a lot of fun here at Hoofbeat with fuzzy horses and snow!

The girls arrived full of energy Tuesday evening. We started out with some ice breakers in their cabin groups so that the girls could get to know each other. We then all met up in the indoor arena to play some group games with the entire camp. We played numbers, blob tag, sharks and minnows, people to people, and many other games. After playing in the cold for a while we had a campfire in lower longbranch, the girls enjoyed camp songs and popcorn.

Wednesday morning we woke up bright and early for some delicious pancakes. The girls were split into four groups for riding and other activities. In the morning the girls had a riding lesson, a horse science lesson on safety/saddling/grooming, made snowflakes in arts and crafts, and made snowmen.
After morning rotations we enjoyed a delicious warm lunch.

We then got into cabin groups and took pictures, and even took and entire camp picture with the snowmen on the lower athletic field. In the afternoon the girls were split back into the four groups. We rotated through trail rides, horse pictures, and sledding! During the trail rides we enjoyed our snow covered trails, it looked like a winter wonderland. The girls each got individual pictures taken with some of our horses in the snow.

In the evening we had an elf hunt! We went for a search on our trails, following a path of candy canes. We heard bells and saw some lights, but unfortunately the elf was too elusive for us to catch. The girls were very happy for the candy cane presents that the elf left us. After being in the cold we warmed up in lower longbranch with hot chocolate and a game of charades.

Walking up the snowy hill

Group photo

Longbranch 1 cabin photo

Hoofroof 1/2 Cabin photo

Longbranch 2 Cabin photo

Hoofroof 3/4 cabin photo

Snowflake arts and crafts!

Making snowflakes!

Riding lesson in the indoor with Lightning

Chloe and Isabella having some fun in the morning riding lesson

Horse photos with Bucky!

Cheyenne and Winston

Happy Staff

Heading out on snowy trails

Sprinkles almost blends in with the snowy trails!

Remember to check the blog often for continued updates on the fun we're having at Christmas Camp!

Invitational Weekend Nov 12-13 and Other Off Season Fun!

On November 12-14 we had our Invitational weekend here at Hoofbeat Ridge. The weekend was a lot of fun for all of the girls and the horses!

The weekend started out on Friday evening, the girls arrived and were excited to be at camp again. After settling into our bunks and playing a few ice breakers, the girls headed to the barn for some late night bareback riding. While they weren't riding they played celebrity horse and other horse related games. We ended the evening with some hot chocoalate in lower longbranch in front of the warm fire.

Saturday morning the girls helped feed the horses and then headed to breakfast. During the morning the girls were split into three riding groups, and had a riding lesson with some of our riding staff. The girls had a chance to choose the horse that they wanted to ride. When they weren't riding the girls were learning about safety, how to tie safety release knots, and about bits and how to bridle a horse.

Throughout the day we had steady rain, and cold weather and the trail conditions weren't safe for horses, campers, and staff. So, we decided to modify the schedule and play some mounted games in our riding groups. The girls also had a chance to do a choice activity. A few of the groups chose to bring Minnie Mouse and Diego, two of our smaller ponies, into the barn lounge and groom them! It was very entertaining to look into the barn lounge and see ponies inside! The girls also had a chance to work with some of our younger horses at hoofbeat. The groups worked with Echo, Prince, and Tango.

Because of the cold weather and rain we decided to stay warm and dry in the evening with some movies, popcorn, and hot chocoalate in lower longbranch. The girls also had a chance to visit our camp store.

During Sunday morning the girls got to ride twice! They were split into two groups and got to ride in another riding lesson, having a chance to trot and try to canter their horses! The groups also worked on twenty meter circles at the trot and general position. After riding in lessons the girls split into three groups and got to ride bareback. While they weren't riding they had a choice between grooming or playing games in the barn lounge.

The Invitational weekend was a lot of fun. We'd like to thank all of the campers that came and made this weekend such a success, we hope to see you all again soon!

Group photo in front of the fireplace!

Grooming Minnie Mouse in the barn lounge

Beautiful morning for riding!

Good morning horses!

The weather is getting a little bit more chilly and the horses are getting fluffy with their winter coats, they look very cute! We'd like to remind everyone about some programs we have in the near future- Chief's Christmas Party is on Saturday December 11. Christmas Camp is December 28-January 1! Both of these programs are going to be a lot of fun, and you can sign up through our website http://www.hoofbeat.org/other-programs/ or give us a call at 608-767-2593.

Happy Thanksgiving from Hoofbeat Staff and horses!