Tally- Ho! It's Horse Camp!

A few months ago, Jared started taking horse back riding lessons at Westwood Farms.  I bought a Groupon for three lessons back in November and we finally got around to using them in April.  

I was hopinh that the horse-child bond would be good for Jared, both physically and emotionally.  It could help build his core muscles without aerobic activity. Plus being able to control a thousand pound+ animal has to be good for self confidence.  Since it was a Groupon, I didn't have high hopes for the quality of the farm and the instruction, but I'm happy to say I was pleasantly disappointed for once.

The facility has the most beautiful barn I have ever seen and the horses top notch. All that would be for naught, if it wasn't for the awesome staff.   They have incredible knowledge and patience.  The boys adore them and they really seem to adore the boys.

Notice I said "boys" (plural). After Jared had been riding for a bit, we found out about summer horse camp.  In a moment of insanity, I suggested to Chris the boys should go and to my surprise he immediately said "yes".  I wasn't willing to send Jared to camp alone, so that meant Lance needed to take a few lessons before camp.  And Titus is never left out.  Miss Jane always makes sure Titus knows where the cats are when we arrive.  If they are missing she'll go find them for him. We can also go pet the baby horses and ponies.  The atmosphere at the farm is so relaxed and welcoming, it's a pleasure to go and hang out during their lessons.

Camp, like the lessons, exceeded our expectations.  

The first day of camp we were surprised to see two other homeschooling families there. It's truly a small world and a nice bonus. Out of the other four children, only one was a complete stranger. Jane had said I could hang around as long as I wanted, so we did.  I was only having them do a half day (3 hours) but it was my first time ever leaving Jared.  Eventually, Amber was ready for a nap and we headed home. 

Poor Mr. Titus was very disappointed he couldn't "do camp".  A friend's daughter was holding a summer day camp for three year olds during the same week and I called to see if there were any openings and there were for the Tuesday and Thursday session. Why not I said?!  I was clearly out of my mind already, so I might as well jump ship completely.

When we picked the boys up on Monday the first thing they asked was to stay longer the next day.  Miss Jane was happy to ablige and we agreed to another hour.

On Tuesday, to avoid driving three hours in the car with Amber, I asked Christina if she could drive Lance and Jared to camp, while I took Titus to his camp.  I stayed a little while at Titus' camp stressing the importance of germ avoidance but it was clear he didn't need me there so I left.

Amber then obliged to taking a long nap and for the first time I had the house and my time all to myself.  Very relaxing I must say.

When I picked the boys up from camp on Tuesday they were really excited.  Jared had posted off lead three times around the ring and Lance had trotted off lead too.  This was a big move forward and they were anticipating more advancements in the coming days.  In addition to the lessons they had done - they did crafts, scavenger hunts and learned about horses.  Here they were identifying all the parts of a horse with post-it-notes.

Chris and I joked that we were paying them to use our boys as free labor.  Cleaning horses, stalls, moving them around the pastures, feeding the horses, etc.  It was a dream come true.  We have talked for years about how do you teach children a work ethic living in the city.  Apparently, you send them to horse camp.

Then we had a moment of faith Wednesday morning.  We were just about to leave the house when Jared had an SVT.  I felt horrible for him, he was in tears about missing camp.  I fought my natural tendencies (to hide and protect him from the world) and told him if we could convert him quickly he could still make it to camp.  That was all he needed to hear and he courageously plunged his head into the ice bucket three times and on the third try it worked.  I texted Jane told her we'd be 15 minutes late and we headed out.  Chris was handling all the doctor correspondences and he was surprised and pleased that I was still taking him to camp.

When we got to the stable I informed them about our morning.  One of the trainers had personal experience with SVTs and both instructors knew a little about Jared situation.  Thankfully, this was the morning the Farrier had come to teach the children his trade so I was able to talk to them quietly behind the children.

Kassie then shared with me a story that made my heart melt.  Jared generally rides her horse "Poppy".  Kassie thought she was seeing Poppy adjust himself to help keep Jared's balance when ever Jared faltered.  That is not a normal thing for a horse to do.  Kassie thought maybe she was seeing something, being biased since it was her horse and all, so she asked Steve and Jane to watch.  Much to their surprise they too saw Poppy doing it.  Apparently, somehow Poppy and Jared have truly bonded.  Later that night when I told Chris, he said to tell Kassie she can never sell Poppy and Kassie said she never would.

Needless to say I stayed around for a while on Wednesday.  It was fun to see the Farriers do their work and they were great with the kids.  Jared had a ton of questions and they were patient in answering them all.  However, after a while Amber and Titus needed play time too.  Thankfully, my friend Cecily lives less than a mile from the stables and happens to have a three year old named Corrie that Titus really likes.  With some urging from Chris that it was okay to leave, we headed over to their house for the rest of the morning.  Kassie guessed I was glued to my phone even sent a photo of Jared to ease my worries.  Despite a little apprehension everyone ended up having a really great day.

Cecily was kind enough to have us stay at her house during camp the rest of the week.  Titus was thrilled, he likes Corrie better than his "lake camp".  Amber had a safe place to crawl around.  I was thankful to hang out with a friend.

 

On Friday, they put on a mini-horse show to show off what the children had learned during the week.  The show was at noon, we picked Chris up from work so he too could attend.  Jared was second in the points competition and was awarded the "Most improved Posting Trot" award.  Lance was awarded the "Best Sportsmanship". In addition to their awards they both got to pick out stuffed ponies.  Jared named his pink pony "Beauty" and Lance named his "Corvette".

We were very proud of both the boys.  They had performed exceptionally.  Jane and Kassie sang their praises everyday.  It was nice to hear, especially since they are not the type to flatter.  The week was a success on many levels.  The boys learned about horses and more importantly the gift of work.  I learned to walk in faith a little more.  A lesson that we will too soon need to exercise again.