I am looking for a good Youth eventing camp in NH, VT, NY, MA, CT, or anywhere else that is pretty close. I am looking to bring my horse with me. He is a very green 5 year old ottb with tons of potential. I am just starting to train him into eventing and I am pretty new to it myself. I would probably be doing Beginner Novice or possibly Novice.
I am 14 years old. I went to Hitching Post Farm’s eventing camp in VT last summer and liked it, but I would like to know about some other options. I am looking for a pretty laid-back camp that is not too intense seeing that my horse and I are pretty new to this. I live in NH and would like the camp to be reasonably close.
I have heard of Vershire Riding School in VT and got good reviews. I don’t know if many people bring their own horses to that camp though. Does anyone have experience with bringing their own horse to Vershire?
All suggestions are appreciated!:D:encouragement:
There’s Forrestel Farm in Upstate NY. I attended for several years (long, long ago… lol) I have some great memories of the place. I rode their horses, but you can bring your own and they have instructors in just about any discipline.
GMHA has a camp.
I went to both Forrestel and Vershire as a kid. Vershire is a great choice if you’re getting into eventing - the camp has been eventing focused since it started in the 70s and they host unrecognized events every summer. No experience bringing a horse, but another girl who attended my session did and was very happy.
I think the actual number of hours spent riding per day is about equal at VRS and Forrestel, but I remember Forrestel as being a little more laid back with “normal” camp activities - tennis, swimming, etc. Vershire was all horses, all the time, and definitely attracted a more serious rider. Depends on what you want!
I attended Vershire’s eventing weekend camp for adults the summer of 2014. It was great fun and the emphasis is definitely on the welfare of the horse and improving as a rider, not competition.
I don’t own a horse but a camper brought her own horse and they definitely worked with her to make her mare happy.
I loved the atmosphere there–it is like another, more peaceful world. There isn’t much else in the area, I should warn you, if you don’t drive.
GMHA. My son went to their camp for a few years and loved it.
GMHA has 2 camps - Youth Camp, and the USEA Young Riders Camp. You would probably fit best with the Youth Camp since your horse is greener.
anyone know of a laid back camp like Forrestel that takes boys as well as girls? from the looks of their website, it looks like Forrestel only takes girls. and timex jr would love a camp where he could ride, but also do some of the ‘normal’ camp stuff too. also in the ny/vt/ma area.
Forrestel used to be co-ed. It was when I attended but that would have been in the late 80s. LOL
There seem to be an awful lot of girls only camps these days for horsey type things. Have you looked into any of the stables around you having day camps. I know a few around me do, you’d get dropped off in the morning and picked up at dinner time and have a full day of lessons, horse care, educational videos, we did a couple day trips to a breeding farm etc. I did that as well as the overnight camp and loved both.
If you’re willing to travel JUST over the border from Vermont to Quebec, Sans Souci is a co-ed camp with an eventing focus and great facilities. They have a full xc course plus a ring of solid hunt fences to practice on. The horses are really well cared for and I know several people who brought their own. They have swimming and fun camp games, but it is very horse-focused, and kids spend lots of time grooming and learning horse care. I spent some of the best weeks of my childhood there, can’t recommend them enough! http://www.sans-souci.qc.ca
jenerationx, we have our own farm, boarding/lessons/training, and do summer camp here as well (day camp), and he has grown up going to the breeding farms, vet clinics, etc. so a day camp at a local barn would be somewhat redundant, and not much in the way of fun for him. id really like to find a sleep away camp for him that ISN’T as riding-intensive as, say, the GMHA camps would be. somewhere where he could still ride, but also get to do other ‘normal camp’ things too.
[QUOTE=Timex;8460093]
jenerationx, we have our own farm, boarding/lessons/training, and do summer camp here as well (day camp), and he has grown up going to the breeding farms, vet clinics, etc. so a day camp at a local barn would be somewhat redundant, and not much in the way of fun for him. id really like to find a sleep away camp for him that ISN’T as riding-intensive as, say, the GMHA camps would be. somewhere where he could still ride, but also get to do other ‘normal camp’ things too.[/QUOTE]
Ahhhh OK. I was all about as much time riding and little time doing other stuff as possible at that point. LOL I had a pony and rode others too, did the mucking and grooming for lessons, so I should have been “horsed out” but I wasn’t. I did enjoy archery, canoeing, and all the other camp things too though.
I’ve heard good things about Laurel South in Maine… not sure if that’s too far out of the area. They have an advanced rider program, but haven’t heard anything specific about that. We had friends of a friend that went for riflery, archery, building rockets, tennis, and a bunch of other things and he loved it, so I know they have a boys and girls program.
Laurel is a terrific camp, but very very expensive, and I think you have to go for the entire summer( probably part of the price tag is that it is an 8 week program). My horse went there for a few summers and the facility is amazing.
[QUOTE=Hilary;8460695]
Laurel is a terrific camp, but very very expensive, and I think you have to go for the entire summer( probably part of the price tag is that it is an 8 week program). My horse went there for a few summers and the facility is amazing.[/QUOTE]
I didn’t ask what the cost was… I don’t think I want to know. LOL I think they actually have 2 sessions that are 4 weeks each unless I misunderstood the person I talked to. He’d said he wanted to go for both sessions maybe the next year, and that would be almost the entire summer break.
