A Day at Camp
For the early risers you can get breakfast between 6:30 – 7:45.a.m.
Everyone is to be in the barn to help with horse care no later than 8am. We will split chores up and the list will be posted a day in advance so that you know what your job is for the morning and afternoon chores. NO SWITCHING JOBS. You always have a "grab and go" breakfast ready for you (fruit, muffin, juice, bagel, doughnut with milk or juice. When the weather is hot and humid we very often go on an early morning hack (trail ride) before the major part of chores are done.
You are expected to keep your cabin chores done and a special treat will be given to the cleanest cabin. Laundry sign in sheet will be posted and you do your own laundry. We have a clothes line and a dryer for you to use. It is a very large capacity washer and dryer so it will not take you long to do your wash. We have put in more washers for the use of the campers.
Everyone is expected to clean up after themselves. That means if your horse makes a mess you are to clean up. Always put your equipment where it belongs so that when someone else needs it, it will be there. Many hands make light work for everyone.
10 a.m. Riders will want to get their horse ready and be on no later than 10 a.m. That way they do not miss any of their 5 hours per day of riding. Your specialized lesson from 11 to 12:30 . Then cool your horse down and give them a light lunch and it is time for you to take a break your self. After thi ride campers often ride their horses in the pond.
12:30
Lunch is usually waiting when you are through with your second lesson. We sometimes take field trips during this time which can include ice cream socials and visits to barns in the area. Our Amish friends love when we visit with our students and show off their craftsmanship.
After lunch and a short rest it is time to ride again.
2:45
It is time to get ready to ride again. This is the time that you may ride with a guest instructor who is on the farm for the day. This is also the lesson when you work with a green horse. After a few days of observation the staff will assign you a green horse to work with for the summer. We have horses that are sent to be worked with and trained in jumping and flat work. We have had great success training horses in the summer and taking them to shows by mid summer.
4 p.m.
This lesson is a very important and you do not want to miss it. We do something new everyday and you may be the one to help design a jumper course. We also do a follow the leader course that is a lot of fun. Course design and learning the lines that you can take in a jump off are very important. We enjoy showing and teaching these to our campers.
5 p.m.
It is time for chores and to get ready for the evening meal. Evening meal is the largest meal of the day and it is a great time to sit around and reflect on the happenings of the day, talk, and get to know everyone. After a relaxing meal and conversation it is time to get everything ready for tomorrow. Making sure that horse care is done for the day and everything is clean and taken care of.
10 p.m.
Campers are in bed unless their is a special event planned. These can include evening campfires, nighttime trail rides, baseball games, trips to the mall, and movies.
On the weekends we attend a show (usually on Saturday), and give the horses a day off.
We are a family farm and love to spoil all of our campers and make sure that they have the best possible horseback riding experience they can possibly have. Virgil, Lynette and Sheila will answer any questions that you have.
Every evening the staff will have a group meeting and take stock in the days activities. If there is a problem we will confront it head on and it will go no further. We will assess your riding and advise you in what way that you can improve yourself. If you have a concern please let us know immediately so that it can be addressed. No problem is too small. A small problem that is not addressed develops into a major problem when it is left unaddressed.
Virgil,Sheila & Lynette
5334 Allegany Road (Co.Rd 10 Napoli)
Little Valley, New York 14755
1-716-938-627