Gabby’s third and final week-long
camp of the summer was attending a horse & pony camp the last week of July.
The anticipation was incredible and the camp was truly a little girl’s dream! The first camp she went to was an all-day swim & tennis camp with two of her best friends from CA, Sofia & Giovanni, (their family moved here around the same time we did – crazy coincidence!). So, she spent the first sunny, warm week of July swimming in pools, playing tennis, and doing some Independence Day-related arts & crafts.nGabby really enjoyed the time with her friends, but also made a few new friends which is great. The second camp she attended was soccer camp.
The Horse & Pony Camp was the
camp she anticipated most and it was everything she dreamed it would be and
more. I was amazed the first time I saw the ranch… so serene and beautiful.
Literally made you dream for a minute or two what it would be like to be a
horse living on that ranch, under the care of the family who owned it. It was
in the middle of nowhere… but honestly, the most beautiful horse ranch set-up I’ve
ever seen.
Gabby spent the week learning about
horses… everything from how to feed and handle them, to how to bathe, groom and
clean up after them. She learned about the different types of horses and
saddles. And, most importantly, she spent a LOT of time riding the horses and
ponies. She was in HEAVEN!! So much in fact, that the first day I went to pick
her up, she seemed really upset. When inquiring more about why she was so
upset, it was determined that she was upset that I came to pick her up. She
didn’t want to go home! This was both a relief (glad that she was having fun!)
and OMG moment (seriously – you don’t want to come home?!).
As luck would have it, one of our
neighbors was one of the assistants at the camp. And, they were kind enough to
offer to bring Gabby to and from camp a few days to help me out. Gabby LOVED
this, because it meant she arrived almost an hour early each day. This allowed
her extra time to help with feeding the chickens and bunnies, and watching and
helping with the ponies.
At the end of the week, the campers put on a horse show for us. Each camper rode the horse through an equestrian obstacle course (no jumps of course, all obstacles were grounded). And, then each camper was presented with a big ribbon and personalized scrapbook that included loads of photos of them riding and helping with the horses, and also pictures holding chickens and bunnies, etc. It was really cute. The campers each all received a cute t-shirt at the beginning of the week (which I think Gabby just HAD to wear 4 of the 5 days!).
I was SO impressed with the camp and
I would highly recommend. It was the most expensive of her summer camps, but
also her favorite and most memorable. Rocco and Giuliana also really enjoyed
visiting the ranch on the last day with us to watch the horse show. After the
show, Giuliana got to spend a lot of time sitting on a horse and petting many of them. And, both her and Rocco spent some quality time chasing and holding the chickens and
bunnies. 
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