Drill teams are amazing during third session.

Organizing a drill team is a challenge beyond our wildest dreams.

One of the activities that began this week was drill team, and that means there will be an event created for the horse show on Saturday. That's right. In fact, there will be more than one drill team. There is a drill team for campers/CITs and a drill team for counselors/advanced riders.

First the drill team maneuvers were planned out and drawn on paper. Second those hard copy maneuvers were handed to the riders so that they could move into the actual practice stage on the tennis courts.

Make your line straight. Watch your partner.

Okay. This is where your lines split and go in opposite directions.

Over and over again, rehearsals have been happening on the courts. With papers in hand, the kids have walked and walked through the drills so that the drill pattern becomes part of them. It helps a lot to have that paper for reference. I know many of the kids are visual learners so the papers act like a map, guiding their every move.

It is interesting watching the precision with which they must master the patterns. Timing is vital. Partners must watch each other carefully, all the while making sure they are communicating subtly with their horse so their horse does exactly what the pattern on paper dictates.

I laugh. If you were to glance at the tennis courts, it looks this week like we are running a drill team school. Two drill teams practicing at the same time. In actuality that's a whole additional phase for riding a horse. Knowing that you have gotten to the point in your riding where you can give subtle cues and keep straight lines is pretty phenomenal and very rewarding.

On Wednesday night, the barn staff was in charge of evening program. So the drill teams did a practice run on horses and we all watched, me snapping photos of course. It was a bit difficult because already it is getting darker here by 8:00 p.m.

Camper/CIT drill team

Advanced Team

Anyway, all the work on foot is now transferring to horseback. It will be polished for your viewing at the horse show on Saturday. There are some rough edges that get smoothed out. With practice riders get a feel for keeping straight lines and managing just the right amount of space between their horse and their partner's horse.

Pretty amazing, isn't it? I'm in total awe and usually very moved by watching these rides. For me, as the owner of Sprucelands Camp, I become particularly emotional because many of these riders I have taught from their very first lesson on a horse. Now they are riding with such balance and sophistication.

Matt is wearing the black shirt in the lower picture on the left. He plays football in college. I said to him yesterday that he should have his football team here to show them how well he rides horses. In fact, maybe riding horses would benefit them as players. He laughed and said, "I don't think they could do it. Riding horses is a lot harder than playing football."

Comments welcome. Hope to see you at the horse show on Saturday. (10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.)