2022 Horse Camp: Western Riding
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EmailSafety, Roping, and Riding!
Horse Riding: Western Riding
Flag Ceremony & C.A.R.E.S.
Welcome to Horse camp! we had quite the awesome day, starting with the Flag ceremony, done with all of our camp groups across the farm. We then went down the hill to talk about our very important C.A.R.E.S. rules which are Cooperation, Attitude, Respect, Empathy, and Safety. Our Stewards and S.I.T.'s (Stewards in Training) participated in giving the campers some amazing examples, good and bad of CARES for our campers to see.
Roping Practice & Demonstration
Afterwar it was time for Roping! Calf Roping, which is a very difficult competition based on speed and accuracy. The campers go to practice on plastic cows where they learned how to swing the rope and throw. Then they got a really good demonstration of what Roping at full speed looked like, and it was so fast! This practice and demonstration defined the rest of our morning
Riding Around
After lunch, the groups got their gear on and introduced themselves to our two horses that were there, Sunny and Gris, before getting up on the saddle and getting comfortable with how they both move around the ring. While two people at a time rode, the other group of campers took to grooming a lovely Miniature horse, named Mango, who absolutely loves his spa day!
Where's my Chicken??
A classic MSU Tollgate Farm game, that is very similar to 'Red Light, Green Light' A farmer stands with their back turned to a group of campers who are trying to steal a 'chicken' or a tiny pouch with a tuft of feather sticking out the top. The campers have to hide the chicken from the farmer all the way back to where they started, an not let the farmer know who has the chicken! It is super fun and lots of giggles were had.
Horse Parts
Since the group was split into teams, while the other teams were learning how to ride, the other groups took to learning about the different parts of what makes a horse, such as the different sections of the legs, head, back, and so on. There was a Velcro label that the campers could stick on to the correct spots. Throughout the week the campers will constantly be talking about and quizzed on this, since the better you know the terms, the better you know the horse, just like it is important to know how your arms and legs coordinate to move.
Check out more Western Riding photos here!
