Best Horse Camp Ever!
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by Rev. Kay Ash
Last week we had our first camp of the summer, a one-day horse camp at the amazing River Ranch Educational Charities location close to Bonton Farms. What we experienced was truly unexpected and magical – this was not your typical tired, old, hoof-shuffling afternoon. We truly learned from and bonded with the animals.
With an address still in Dallas (who knew it was so close), River Ranch sits on 300 acres of City of Dallas property, some of which is partially shaded with forest, lots of pasture and part of the site is fenced off with active archaeological digs (something about Davy Crockett). The facilities are lovely, spacious, and clean. That said, the most important part of our experience involves the River Ranch staff.
To begin, nine rising 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade girls (mostly from Wednesday Night Live) learned from ranch-hand Isaiah and his favorite horse, Santana, about all the different parts of a horse and all the parts of a saddle. Then, the girls were divided into pairs and matched with a ranch hand and a horse. They truly practiced saddling a horse, over and over again until they understood. They learned just how heavy a saddle really is! They even tied their own knots, adjusted their own stirrups, and found out that horses can sometimes be uncooperative when it is time to put on a bridle.
When the introductory learning portion was completed, the girls were divided into two groups. The first group put on helmets and led their horses to the mounting blocks. Over and over again the children learned how to get onto a horse and importantly, the soft way to hold onto the reins. While still in the large arena area, the girls got to play red light/green light with their horses which taught them how to start and stop their horses in gentle ways. Everybody got individual attention, everybody was given plenty of time to become comfortable. The horses were so empathetic – they mirrored the energy level of the girls and easily responded to the girls’ directions. At last, ranch hand Rafael (30+ years with Dallas Parks and Recreation) lead the girls out for a trail ride through the forest. The picture above is when they returned.
The second group was taken to the barn where they got to pet all the animals: sweet wiggle tailed piglets, very patient chickens, goats that behaved more like faithful dogs and lots more horses and ponies. They learned how to hold in their thumbs when feeding a horse some oats and how goats always want more food. Ranch hand Rodeo then gave each girl a pony to lead out into the pasture. Letting the ponies eat grass, the girls asked questions and watched a new baby horse do zoomies all around us and then quickly ran back to his mom. Lastly, we bathed and brushed the ponies – there is nothing more lovely than young girls brushing horses, they did not want to leave!
After the two groups switched, we sat down for lunch and discussion. Several of the River Ranch staff joined us. We talked about the story of Adam and Eve, how God gave Adam “dominion” over the animals of the earth. I believe the girls came away from the day with an expanded understanding of what “dominion” means. It was obvious that a 90-pound elementary girl had only limited “dominion” over her 1000-pound horse. Instead, we redefined “dominion” as care taking and partnerships. The girls imagined that they were dancing together with their horses instead of controlling them.
All in all, horse camp was an amazing success with success defined as a time of learning and empowerment. Many thanks to the wonderful River Ranch staff who took such terrific care of our children. And, especially, thanks to the girls for being brave.
