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Day Horse camp runs every week during summer break from school. Weekly programs run Monday through Friday and from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Day Horse Camp is available to youth ages 10 and up. Classes divided into age groups will be made available. Lunch will be provided at Day Horse Camp. If a scheduling problems should arise, children may be picked up as late as 6:00 PM. Day Horse Campers will meet with and share activities with the Stay Campers. All campers will receive one class of riding each day. Time is allowed for students to enjoy other activities. From the program's start, students learn how to handle themselves around horses and how to keep themselves and their horses safe. Students learn how to catch, halter, lead, groom, saddle and bridle. Our highly structured program provides excellent training by certified instructors for those just learning to ride, while teaching the finer points of equitation and horsemanship to the experienced rider. All students learn how to handle themselves around horses and how to keep themselves and their mounts safe. Periodic evaluations are made so that each student has the opportunity to advance as their ability increases. We encourage campers to stay for more than one session, as progress tends to compound with each successive week. Beginner and Intermediate Levels Beginner: Campers who have never ridden before, has attended camp or vacation trails. Little or no knowledge of horsemanship. Intermediate: Campers who have taken lessons, walk, trot and canter. Beginning jumping and have ridden school horses. Campers who have ridden for under 2 years. Moderate knowledge of horsemanship and stable management skills. For the beginner and intermediate sessions, all students will be tested on the first day of camp for appropriate placement in any of the riding specialty programs. Horses and riders are matched according to individual requirements and degree of training and placed in groups for their riding lessons, according to the riders age and level of experience. Beginners and Intermediates are teamed up for non riding stable activities. Other than the individual daily riding lesson, campers will be participating in feeding, cleaning stalls, and classroom activities. In addition to the daily horse care and riding, students will learn about, talking and approaching horses using "horse language", conformation, colors & markings, fitting tack, feet & shoes, mouths and bits, first aid & safety, boots & bandages, feed & feeding and human first aid. Specific topics set forth for a particular week will be taught and followed up with "hands on" ground work with the horses and equipment in the barn. The majority of the day will be devoted to the horses and horsemanship. From the program's start, students learn how to handle themselves around horses and how to keep themselves and their horses safe. Students learn how to catch, halter, lead, groom, saddle and bridle. All campers will receive one class of riding each day. Time is allowed for students to enjoy other activities both indoors and out. Periodic evaluations are made so that each student has the opportunity to advance as their ability increases. We encourage campers to stay for more than one session, as progress tends to compound with each successive week.
We teach English and Western style riding; Beginner to Advanced! Our riding program focuses on training riders for excellence, no matter what level or discipline they are at. All of our classes are taught inside an arena and safety of the horse and rider comes first. We do not trail ride, our main focus is "training".
Play Time and Fun Stuff Part of the day will be spent playing games and other fun activities. Evenings, after supper, will consist of games, movies or spending time with the horses. Friday, the last day of camp, consists of horsemanship and riding in the mornings. The pick up times on Friday are from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. IMPORTANT NOTICE! Riding is more than just getting on a horse, there is a lot of work in taking care of horses and equipment and our focus is to teach campers the full responsibility of horsemanship both on and off the horse. Summer months in Iowa can be very hot and we reserve the right to cancel outdoor events or re-schedule them due to extreme heat. Camper's dorm is in the horse barn as well as the kitchen. Horses and barns experience fly and insect population. We have installed automatic fly sprayers and ask all campers to keep doors closed. All campers will be asked to clean up after themselves. This includes the bedroom area, bathrooms and after all meals. Kitchen duties are shared throughout the group and take less than 10 minutes. Duties include but are not limited to: throwing their paper plates away, washing cooking dishes, wiping counters, taking trash out, sweeping floors (including bathroom). All campers will be asked to clean up after themselves as well as their horses in the barn area. These duties include: Scooping manure, hosing wash rack, putting all equipment away, cleaning their tack, sweeping tack room floor. Campers will be asked to fill horse's water buckets with a hose. Due to the diverse tastes in food and morning riding schedules, we offer self serve breakfast and lunch. Dinner is the only meal that is cooked. Lists of activities are offered to all campers and the group votes on which ones they choose to participate in with majority ruling. We will not force any camper to participate in any activity if she chooses not to do so. We have well water. Installed in the kitchen is a water filter. Campers are encouraged to bring their own water if they are not familiar with well water. A pop machine is present but at times the machine becomes out of order. We provide gatorade and lemonade.
Parents interested in carpooling are encouraged to call the camp office, we would be happy to refer you to people in your area. Please ask for Sharon or David. Riding Levels Day Camp
What To Bring What To Wear PLEASE NO GUM!
Camp Directors and Camp Councelors
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Forest
Hill Farms Equestrian Center