1 Mother 2 Another

Maddie’s spending the week at her
riding stables in a five-day horseback riding camp. It’s
all-day, every day, and it’s exhausting. 8 to 5 would wear
out any third grader; add to that the fact that she’s in
Texas heat, un-airconditioned, working and sweating outdoors the
whole time, and you’ve got one worn out child by the end of
the day.


She’s never been happier.


She gets a couple full lessons each day, of course, but she
doesn’t spend every minute horseback: she grooms the animals,
feeds and waters them, cleans their stalls, and so forth.


And then there’s the rest of the time, which is where I think
the real lessons are.

These kids are given pretty free run of
the stables, and for suburban sidewalk children, it’s a whole
new world. They’re allowed to roam the farm a few times a
day, playing with the barn cats, helping move horses into different
pastures, bringing a horse into the ring and taking turns riding it
bareback, and so on. It’s a heady freedom, and the girls
revel in it – all under the watchful eye of a group of women
who know that independence and trust and hard work go a long way
towards shaping a young woman.


I love that the camp isn’t structured Every. Single. Second.
There’s no busy crafts or filler stuff. The girls are either
learning, working, or discovering how to occupy themselves.


Yesterday I went to pick up Maddie and her two friends at the end
of the day, and before I’d even gotten out of the car they
were dragging me off to see their “clubhouse”.
They’d found a clump of clustered trees that form a natural
little “room” and made a gathering space out of it.
They’d gotten a grown-up to help hang an old tire for a
swing/seat; a couple of threadbare horse pads were used for
“rugs” and “seats”; horseshoes decorated
the “walls”; and – my favorite –
they’d created their own television: the girls scavenged an
old board and drew cartoons on it in Sharpie – one story on
one side, another on the flip side. “See! We get two
channels!” they told me proudly.


They’d already discovered inside jokes and as they lounged in
the “room”, giggling together happily, I could see
– this is what they’ll take away from the camp, whether
they realize it or not. A week spent exploring, using their own
creativity, and having a fantastic time during nine
un-airconditioned hours away from television and iPads. I have
similar memories from summers I spent at my grandparents’ log
cabin farm, and I’m so grateful Maddie has this place so
close to home.


Her riding’s improved exponentially over the past few days,
just because she’s in the saddle so much. But truthfully,
it’s what she’s experienced out of the saddle that
counts for more, I think.