School is Out

You may be wondering where the horses are because there haven't been photos of kids riding or grooming or connecting with their four-legged buddies. Well, that's because I've been in school while the riding program buzzed at the barn. Thursday was my last day.

So Friday I celebrated my freedom by taking my camera and capturing moments in horsey-town. I clomped around in the mud with the kids after major rains on Thursday, and enjoyed watching the Sprucelands horse experience happen.

Always there is a sense of humor, especially in this session. We all know having a horse is more than riding. It is feeding, grooming, tacking, and cleaning stalls. It is dedication to our horses; it is teamwork fair and square.

Friday our boys put a fun twist on the work. They made a relay to do stalls quickly. I laughed when I took this photo. They are characters. Talk about Ma and Pa Kettle. This is the motley stall-relay-in-the-mud-barn-crew. They crack me up. That's Andrew, Josh, Matt and Daley.

Moving around the barn, I witnessed those wonderful connections between kids and horses again. I suddenly realized how much I missed the campers over the winter. While I keep riding lessons and weekend clinics going, it just isn't the same as the day-to-day sharing of responsibility that happens at camp. I actually get lonely here in the off season.

Anyway, the horse connections give me wonderful photos like this one with Robyn and Harry. Robyn is one of our Counselors in Training this year. She loves Harry and is doing well with him. Their relationship has been ongoing. Harry needs Robyn as much as Robyn needs Harry. In fact, Harry's people-to-people summer experience helps him with an optimism about life that is so important, even for horses.