We are an all-riding horse camp! We do not run shifts of riders across the same horse while others wait turns or complete craft activities: we match up each camper by personality and ability to "their own horse" for the camp week. We are generally "spot on" because we want each rider to become a partner with their horse as the camp week progresses! Every rider and all staff have and ride their own horse and we all ride together for the entire camp time. However, because we don't ride in shifts we are limited by the number of horses we have for the number of campers we can accomodate.  Therefore, we encourage you to reserve your camp week and register your rider(s) early!!

The camp programs are put together and led by me, Gerry Eaton. My background is in child development, with an Elementary Education Teaching Degree and Certification from Eastern Michigan University in 1996. I have owned, ridden, bred, raised, trained, driven, and shown eight different breeds of horses over forty-five years of my life. I ride hunt seat, dressage, western, trail, gymkhana (barrel racing, etc.) bareback, and have jumped. I am an adult volunteer for the Michigan Interscholastic Horse Association: invited to assist coach the Dundee Equestrian team in 2010; Assistant Coach with the Ann Arbor Pioneer High School Equestrian Team, 2001-2010; Saline Equestrian Team Coach from 1996-2000: police background checked, CPR and First Aid re-certified annually. I have been a member of Spur of The Moment Horse club since 1990: Treasurer and open horse show organizer 1995-2007 and a 4-H horse club leader 1990-2001. I never outgrew my passion for horses and I love teaching! Riding lessons and summer camps are a way for me to combine both enthusiasms in the same activity, and it shows in the affection and devotion I receive from my horses and my riders.

Others in the pool of instructors have also been riding most of their lives in different disciplines and affiliated with the same horse organizations as we are or have been. We personally know and select instructors based on having watched their riding, social interaction, and horse handling for years. ~~We can accommodate all abilities and all ages all weeks because each instructor is assigned not more than two riders of similar riding ability to monitor and instruct: no camp rider receives minimal attention or gets overlooked because they are in a crowd of riders with minimal supervision.~~

Our camp horses are multiple breeds and horses we regularly teach riding lessons on. Our familiarity with multiple riding disciplines, breeds, and the horses we use, allows us to evaluate the best horse, for the best seat, for each child’s ability or limitations. Our horses are push-button horses only if the rider knows the right buttons to push and how to push them! Therefore, we truly teach our riders how to ride, not just how to sit on the seat of a moving horse. We make riding fun, interesting, and challenging because no one does a good job at anything they are made miserable doing! At our camps riders learn to ride, ride safely, and ride to their full potential! There is no better motivator than fun!

Day One: Focus on safety!
•    Proper riding attire that keeps riders safe: what and why
•    Safety around and with horses: what to do and not to do
•    Correct body and arm position to safely lead a horse from the pasture or stall
•    Learning your horse’s name, breed, and color
•    Proper brushing and grooming; breeds of horses, colors, and markings
•    Tacking up a horse: what saddle and bridle we use for which     discipline: checking equipment for safe use condition
•    Properly mounting and dismounting a horse safely
•    Proper equitation: sit straight, heels down, and elbows in
•    Cueing the horse: squeezing versus kicking (what you get from how you ask)
•    Ride, ride, ride! (Instructors evaluate riders’ ability)
•    Mid-morning snack; then MORE ride, ride, riding!
•    Review and reinforce information learned during grooming,
      while un-tacking
•    Wipe and put away equipment
•    Regroup: Recap and recall what was learned today

  
Day Two:
•    Review Day One’s focus on safety
•    Safely getting and leading a horse from the pasture: what is your horse’s name and breed?
•    Proper brushing and grooming; identifying the parts of a horses’ body
•    Tacking up the horse: identifying the parts and pieces of a saddle and bridle
•    Checking for properly mounting a horse safely
•    Proper equitation check
•    Ride, ride, ride!
•    Checking for properly dismounting a horse safely
•    Mid-morning snack
•    Ride, ride, ride! (Checking for proper mounting before and
      dismounting after)
•    Review and reinforce information learned during grooming,
     while un-tacking
•    Wipe and put away equipment
•    Regroup: Recap and recall what was learned today

Day Three:
•    Review Day One’s focus on safety
•    Safely getting a horse from the pasture
•    Proper brushing and grooming; Review breeds of horses, colors, and markings
•    Tacking up the horse: review identifying parts and pieces of the saddle and bridle
•    Ride, ride, ride! (Checking for proper mounting before and
     dismounting after)
•    Mid-morning snack
•    Ride, ride, ride! (Checking for proper mounting before and
      dismounting after)
•    Review and reinforce information learned during grooming,
      while un-tacking
•    Wipe and put away equipment
•    Regroup: Recap and recall what was learned today

Day Four:
•    Review Day One’s focus on safety
•    Safely getting a horse from the pasture
•    Proper brushing and grooming: what do horses eat? How much does a horse weigh? Why is hay or grass important?
•    Ride, ride, ride! (Checking for proper mounting before and
     dismounting after)
•    Mid-morning snack
•    Ride, ride, ride! (Checking for proper mounting before and
      dismounting after)
•    Review and reinforce information learned during grooming,
      while un-tacking
•    Wipe and put away equipment
•    Regroup: recap and recall what was learned today

Day Five:
•    Review Day One’s focus on safety
•    Safely getting a horse from the pasture
•    Proper brushing and grooming; What it takes to get a horse ready for a horse show: clipping, bathing, and braiding
•    Mid-morning snack
•    Ride, ride, ride! (Games on horseback, or mock horse Show)
•    Review and reinforce information learned during grooming,
     while un-tacking
•    Wipe and put away equipment
•    Regroup: Recap and recall what was learned today

The camp schedule is provided as a guideline only for learning objectives and is subject to change depending on each rider’s overall prior experience, knowledge, learning interest, and ability. Ride time, depending on the weather as well as riders’ prior experience and ability will include (if appropriate) traveling at all three gaits (walking, trotting, and cantering;) riding in the indoor arena (learning to practice proper etiquette in the show arena,) riding at a walk or trot both ways of the track, group riding on our mowed nature trail or road riding experience (discuss and learn safe riding outside of an enclosed arena and why it is important to be aware of your surroundings whether you are on a horse, on a bike, in a car, or walking!) completing an arranged trail pattern, fitting and showing (presenting the horse to a judge “in-hand”) and riding in the outdoor arena.

The first day or two of camp we take pictures of each rider on or with their horse for them to mount in a handcrafted frame at the end of the week. That is our only craft activity since all of our campers just want to ride and ride a lot (so our focus is on wearing out the seat of their pants on horseback.) Therefore, horse activities while not on horseback are limited or non-existent (maybe in case of rain... but maybe not...) Learning activities opportunities include discussing, handling, and learning about grain, hay, bedding, basic horse health care, and hands-on stall cleaning and maintenance.

Water and a light, mid-morning snack (Teddy Grahams, Animal Crackers and Cheezits) and lemonade is provided by the stables. If your child chooses to bring their own snack or additional food, please avoid snacks with high sugar content, red dye, peanuts, or other foodstuffs known to be common allergens.

Riders may arrive no earlier than 20 minutes prior to camp start and should be picked up promptly at the end of camp time unless prior arrangements have been made. Additional time will be charged. Riders are not released to any person who the stables has not been given express permission in writing from a custodial parent to do so. 

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…//.>>  giddy-UP!!

Camp June 20-24, 2011