Free Rein at Camp
In Winston Churchill’s book My Early Life, he said, “No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.”
Boys have been able to experience the joy of horseback riding first-hand this summer, both in the ring and on the trails. There are campers with all different experience levels who come to the barn, but the majority are new to riding. Some are even riding a horse for the first time - and that’s what camp is all about!
On Monday, the afternoon was split into two lessons. The first half was “ground school” and a ring lesson for some beginner riders. This meant that the lesson would start on the ground with the basics before actually getting on a horse. The second half of the afternoon would have boys setting out on a trail ride.
The names of the boys and the horses they would be riding were written on the barn’s whiteboard in preparation for the afternoon. The ring lesson would include:
- Robbie G. on Tug
- Gaines B. on Buckwheat
- Sam T. on Goose
- Will M. on Joker
These four boys all happened to be friends from Houston, TX. “We saw horses in the field when we walked to our Cabin Overnight shelter and wanted to sign up,” said Gaines. “Yeah, we can’t do things like this at home,” said Sam.
When they got to the barn for the first time, counselor Nicole Mullaney went over the basics with them. They covered the barn rules and learned how to use reins to direct or stop a horse.
Nicole didn’t just list the rules though, she talked with the boys about the “why” behind each rule so they could understand the reasons for each, and how it would keep both them and the horses safe. For example, when discussing why they shouldn’t feed a horse anything without staff permission, the boys learned something new. “Wait, horses can’t throw up??”
Once the boys were ready to put their new knowledge into action, the horseback staff helped them lead their horses up to the riding ring. 3rd year counselor and head of the barn this year, Maria Cruz Amengual, helped the boys fit the stirrups to their leg length. “Joker likes you!” she told Will, as Joker kept trying to nuzzle him before the lesson.
Seeing a horse up close is fun, but actually riding such a huge and powerful animal is a different level. Nicole and Maria explained how to squeeze the horse with your legs to ask them to walk on, and all four boys practiced steering with the reins. There’s a learning curve when you first start riding, but luckily camp horses are some of the most gentle and patient animals you’ll ever meet.
We have some Western tack for trail riding, but the main riding style taught at Falling Creek is English. The techniques may have their roots in Europe, after having been founded from European military cavalry and classical riding methods, but these days English riding is seen throughout the world. Though local variations exist, it’s standardized worldwide, which means boys could use (or even compete) in this style anywhere they go.
Maria is from Spain and grew up riding English style. “This type of riding is basically the same across countries. The progressions are more precise than if we were to teach Western. It’s good for boys who want to focus on form.”
Many of our staff ride both styles, and they bring a wide variety of experience from all different parts of the world. In addition to Maria being from Spain, Almu Mones Llaca and Xime Morales are from Mexico, Sav Phillips is from Tennessee but her family has a ranch in British Columbia, Nicole Mullaney is from Texas, and Sam Evans is from Washington D.C.
Being from DC, Sam didn’t have much opportunity to ride horses at home, but fell in love with it at camp. Sam was a camper for 6 summers (’16-’19,’21-’22) and is back as a first year counselor, helping other campers find as much joy at horseback riding as he did.
“My older brother did a couple internships in DC, but that corporate setting just wasn’t for me. I was looking for something to do with my summer this year, and Yates emailed me about coming back to camp. It’s been hard work, but I’m enjoying it.”
Sam signed up for the barn as much as he could when he was a camper. He even earned “Warrior,” the highest progression level. “Jumping was the hardest part of earning my Warrior,” he remembers. “I think I jumped with Clyde the most. But my favorite horse was always Wilbur.”
Sam is a great example of the unexpected ways that camp can change your life. He went from riding a horse for the first time, to advancing through the progression system over years as a camper, to now returning on staff and teaching horseback riding to the next generation.
Incredibly, this story of developing a lifelong interest at camp isn’t as rare as you might think. Jonathan Dunham is also a former camper (‘15-’19,’21-’23) returning for his second year on staff in the barn. He’s better known as “Cheerio” by his camp friends, and is another example of camp experiences coming full circle.
During the second part of the afternoon, a new group of campers arrived for a trail ride. They had already completed their ground school and initial ring lesson, and were ready to venture out on some trails. While most of the progressions and gait techniques are learned in the ring, trail rides are a great way to practice control as a rider, get to know the horses, and see more of camp!
For this ride, it would be:
- Chandler M on Goose
- Lyndon B on Tug
- John B on Kosmo
“You can tell a horse is relaxed when they rest their hoof like this,” said Chandler, pointing to the way Goose was resting just his back toe on the ground. “Chandler has been returning to the barn a lot and it’s great to see his improvement. He’s been really looking forward to trail rides,” said counselor Bea.
Almu, a first-year counselor from Mexico, said that it’s been rewarding to see campers gain confidence and skill with riding. “Some of the most growth happened after the first two weeks during the longer sessions. The boys needed a couple weeks to get used to the horses and be more comfortable since horseback riding is new to most of them, but then their skills improved so much by the end of the session.”
John and Lyndon were both returning campers, but hadn’t tried horseback riding until this summer. “I wanted to try new things this year,” said Lyndon. He signed up for horseback riding on a whim. Initially thinking he would sign up for woodworking, he saw the signups for horseback at the last minute and changed his mind. Being able to try new things is great at camp, since you never know what you’ll end up liking.
You could say that boys have “free rein” over their choices, but not just at the barn!
This session has been full of opportunities for new things: new activities tried, new skills gained, new friends made, new trip locations visited, and even new foods tasted. For some, just the experience of going to camp is new. It’s exciting to think about all the “firsts” that the boys still have ahead of them, and also how some of the things they’ve tried over these past two weeks might soon become “old favorites.”