E and Monte had horse camp this past week - and what a blast it was! Ever since she started Pony Club we've been told "You HAVE to go to Deary!" E was also told that it was more intense than the rallies we went to. Which had me a bit worried, because heaven knows, the rallies took quite a bit of energy!
We packed on Tuesday, trying to make sure we had whatever we might need for the coming week. And I think we did pretty good, except that a couple of key items were left behind at the last moment.
While picking up hay at the barn on Tuesday afternoon, another boarder requested some help from E (Their pony was being a butthead and pulling back while tied - but that's a whole 'nother story!). In the process of helping them out, we forgot to reload the extra stall bedding and the muck boots that had been temporarily taken out of the truck while we packed in some extra hay. Those two things would've been mighty handy once we got out to Deary since there were torrential rains a couple of nights before we arrived, turning the whole property into one huge mud pit.
I also walked out the door on Wednesday morning without my foot bands (for my plantar faciitis) and my sunhat - both things I can live without, but again, sure would've been nice to have them!
Wednesday started out very smooth, but way too early. Out of bed at 4:45 and on the road by 5:30. We picked up our friend's horse, Handsome, and hit the highway around 6. Check-in at camp was between 9 and 11, and I had been warned that earlier is better because you can choose a better camping spot. Given that we were staying in a tent, a prime spot was VERY important to me! So, we arrived at Deary around 9:30.
Entering the Pony Club camp.
This was taken after several days of no rain, so the road is no longer a river of mud. We immediately discovered that the whole place was sopping wet, with part of the property being totally closed off to any traffic. People driving 4-wheel drive trucks couldn't even get through the road. After some truck juggling (since we only have 2-wheel drive and couldn't safely position the trailer ourselves), another rig pulled our trailer into place and we found a relatively dry, if not flat, spot to put up our home-away-from-home. I decided sleeping on a slope with toes downhill was preferable to sleeping in a bog.
E returning to the campsite after 6 a.m. horse chores....note the incline - and her smile! Camp could now begin!
Deary is both a horse management rally and a summer camp with riding lessons. E's team was made up of younger Pony Clubers, one from her own club and two boys from others. Their counselors were also on the younger side, although both very experienced PCers. It took the team some time to figure out their rhythm and pull the tack and feed rooms together, but in the end they managed to place 7th (out of 8) in the rally.
The Red Team - ready to put on their skit. :)
The first riding lesson, on Wednesday afternoon, was led by a veteran PCer named Erin who has been coming to Deary for 32 years (she is also 32, by the way!). The other students in the group were young riders and after the lesson, E asked to be moved to a different group. Although she is still rated as only a D1, her skills are a bit above that rating. I was very proud of her for taking the initiative and approaching her instructor to ask if she could join a different group. When she asked, Erin agreed that E was definitely able to do more than was being taught and arranged for E to move to lessons with another instructor, Sarah Stanton.
Riding up to the arena for a lesson. E's first lesson with Sarah proved to be a better placement. And Sarah was able to get E to finally SIT UP STRAIGHT AND NOT LEAN FORWARD while riding! A major, if simple, breakthrough for E. She also had the students trot over poles with no hands.
Look, mom. No hands! The second lesson with Sarah was a jumping lesson. They jumped cross poles and small banks. Because E is so tall and her pony is not, she has to be super conscious of her body position, especially when jumping. Slight changes in her body angle can have big consequences on his balance. This makes jumping a bit difficult for Monte and E, but with practice they can be quite successful. And in the end, E will have great body control and awareness.
Thursday night was skit night for all the campers. E's team had planned ahead, bringing costumes and whatnot for the festivities. Due to E's "memorable" performance as Princess Ella, the other campers called her Princess Emily for the remainder of the week. (PC parents from our own club were surprised at how goofy she was as she's often pretty quiet during our regular lessons. If they only knew!)
E's final lesson with Sarah was on the cross country course. I was nervous about how Monte, a true arena baby, would do out in the open and in the woods. I was especially concerned about all the mud and the pond they would also go through.
Sarah schooled all the riders on how to approach the jumps - and Monte did it! In fact, I think he even enjoyed the experience. I know that E did, anyway. Huge smiles the whole time we were on the course.
Jump #3 on the beginner XC course at Deary. 
The footing was still a bit messy, but safe enough. 
The last jump on the XC course; they just came up a hill to jump this. As expected, Monte was totally unsure of the pond. After 2 days of dealing with mud, he had become accustomed to mucky ground that sucked at his hooves, but entering a pond that was almost 3' deep in the center was not his idea of fun. You could see him thinking, "But I'm a desert horse, not a water pony!" E managed to coax him into the water, and I swear that if a horse could tip-toe, he would've been! We all were laughing as we watched him gingerly cross the water with his ears off to the side.
First time into the pond.
At this point, camp ended. But we stayed on to participate in two competitions - Combined Tests, and the Hopeful Horse Trials. Combined tests consisted of a dressage test and a stadium jumping round. In this competition, the lower the score the better; E and Monte scored 34 in dressage (all 6s and 7s, with an 8 thrown in for good measure!) and had a clean jumping round, so they ended up in 2nd place for their division. Yeah! The Combined Tests were over by dinner, and then E began the Hopeful Trials, which consisted of another dressage test, a round of stadium jumping and a cross country competition. E and Monte competed in the Nervous Novice division, along with 14 other competitors.
The dressage portion was completed Friday evening (the same test that they did earlier in the day). By the time they rode the test, Monte was done so their score was a bit higher than the first time through (40.5 - which is still quite respectable for a novice rider).
Saturday was jumping day. E was very happy that she didn't begin riding until early afternoon (a nice change after early mornings during camp). The XC course was deemed too wet in portions, so a few spots were eliminated (including the pond) and/or changed. E found that Monte was VERY nervous about entering the woods without his herd. She had to work to get him over all the obstacles but they managed to get through the course with no refusals.
The last portion of Hopeful, the stadium jumping, took place late afternoon. I hoofed it up the hill to watch the higher level competitors, thinking that I'd leave sometime during that portion to help E get ready. But the competition was so exciting I never left my spot so E had to manage on her own (which she did splendidly, btw). Watching those huge horses (and some not-so-huge horses!) speed through the jumping course was incredible.
Being in the Nervous Novice division, E's jumps were substantially lower than the first riders'. Her challenge consisted of 10 jumps, all 2' or lower. Which was plenty challenging. :) By this time both horse and rider are exhausted, but being the good pony that he is, Monte willingly did whatever E asked and knocked down only one pole at jump #4. Their main problem during the round was that E wasn't focused enough and didn't give Monte clear directions for part of the course.
In the end, she and Monte placed 6th in the Hopeful. Not bad for a first time!
A tired rider, wearing her medal, on her tired pony.
And what was I doing during all of this fun? Well, washing dishes up in the cook shack, cleaning the bathrooms one afternoon and volunteering as a jump judge during the cross country portion of Hopeful. I was plenty busy. :)
And we are both totally looking forward to next year at Deary!
