Adult Camp 2006

Oct 5-8th, 2006

Instructors: Liz Steacie and Harriet Peterson.

Summary, Written by Laura Nelson

Not even the wind and heavy rains from a three day nor’ easter could dampen the spirits of the 17 adult campers at Fancy Hill Farm

in Natural Bridge, VA the weekend of October 5 through 8. Thanks to the farm’s oversized indoor arena, two lessons ran

simultaneously allowing the riders, clinicians and auditors to participate in all the activities without getting wet. Our

youngest camper was a 26-year-old college student, and our oldest was a 72-year-old ski instructor! One camper brought her

mother (and groom) back for her third camp experience at age 92, and this lady worked!

Private sessions were held daily with Liz Steacie of Canada and Harriet Peterson, a USDF certified instructor, from VA.

Both instructors heavily stressed the basics no matter what the level of horse and rider. A hot topic for the weekend

was lowering the neck to get the horse soft and reaching over the back and thus able to step into the contact. Impulsion

was the building block of all other work. Every horse left the lessons moving more freely and with bigger, more correct gaits than

they came with.

Our education was supplemented with an unmounted, body awareness session with camper, Meredith Manor graduate and instructor

Nancy Stone from VA. We played “games” where one person was the horse and one was the rider and experienced the feeling of

the following hand versus the restraining hand, and on the mini trampoline we learned how to have a steady

hand while “sitting the trot”. Every morning, camper Marie Klimchuk, a yoga instructor, conducted a warm-up,

specifically tailored to the rider. On Friday we had a saddle fitter present to evaluate and adjust saddles as needed.

Our meals during the day were held in the meeting room of the indoor arena and breaks were of sufficient length to allow

informal discussion. SWVADA provided it’s extensive video library for watching in that same location. Evening meals were

about a mile down the road at the Rockbridge Hunt, a rustic facility that allowed us to bring in delicious meals prepared by

SWVADA member and phenomenal chef, Jan Keener. From spaghetti to three types of chicken, wonderful salads and soups, and oh,

the desserts, we were all well fed and cared for. Hotel accommodations were provided for at the Budget Inn located just across

the road from the farm. Rooms were shared between two campers. Carpooling was encouraged and utilized to the various locals and was

not a problem.

Thursday night we had a welcome dinner where campers introduced themselves and their horses. They had been assigned to consider

who their horses would be if they were celebrities. We were introduced to celebrities ranging from Bo Derrick to John McEnroe and

Beaver Cleaver! Saturday ended with a Chinese auction or gift swap with prizes donated from local and national equestrian merchants

and carefully selected by SWVADA member Blanche Mahoney. Everyone went home with a really nice gift. Additionally, campers left

with a nice saddle pad silk-screened with the USDF adult education logo and the year 2006. This has become a tradition with

the printed logo applied to shirts, tote bags, caps and saddle pads, each year commemorated on a different item.

This is the eleventh adult camp that I have organized, and it may have been the best. When beginning to plan camp, I determine

which expenses are fixed, facility rental, insurance, food, and instructors’ fees. Then I look at variable costs such as

stabling and hotel. I determine where the “break even” will occur, how many campers will I need to break even, how many to

make a “profit” and determine the cost to each camper. Deposits are taken, reservations are made, and things run along smoothly

until the last 3 weeks before camp when horses get lame, people have emergencies and have to cancel, and the waiting list is

exhausted. At this point it is too late to raise fees and I begin to panic that we will lose money. This camp is an educational

event to help our GMO fulfill its 501c3 status and is not intended as a moneymaker. In the past we have made as much as

$2000 (the first year when I way over budgeted) and have lost as much as $500 when we have had too few campers to meet expenses.

Our first camp we charged $325 per person to attend and accepted up to 20 campers. This is our most expensive camp to date at

$550 per participant. As clinicians’ expenses go up, especially air fair, this may price itself out of the realm of possibility for

many of the people who have attended in the past. I know that I have to work a long time at my job to earn $550! We have

been extremely fortunate that the farm where we have held all but one of our camps has never raised prices for us. This is

partly because we are self-sustaining and require little effort from them, and partly because I make myself responsible for the

campers (and partly because I have learned to beg). Grants from the Dressage Foundation have been greatly appreciated in helping

to defray some of the costs! Our mission as a chapter of our GMO is to provide dressage education and we invite auditors as well

as the 20 or so riders to attend and auditing is free. We also provide a no cost educational forum in February for our members and

members of the horse community at large in Southwest VA. These two events are our shining moments in dressage education and the

most expensive things that we do for our membership. Support from the Dressage Foundation and other like-minded groups are

essential to these endeavors.

To summarize, the camp for 2006 met it’s goals for education. I would have liked to have had larger participation of both

riders and auditors. I do think the weather may have kept away some, it really was awful! My budget was fairly accurate, taking into

consideration the grant moneys. Had we had 2 additional campers, we could have declined the grant. Our instructors were both known to

me, so there were no surprises there, always a good point. I have tended to go out of the country for clinicians because they

have been less costly for the excellent quality available. Increasing airfare may affect that for the future. All of us on the

board of directors of VADA SW chapter thank the Dressage Foundation once again for your continued support and may ask for it again

in the future.

Laura Nelson

Camp Director 2006

A special thanks to all those who donated items to the 2006 SWVADA Adult Camp! Windhorse, Inc. Sleezy Sleepwear 8 tail bags 7518 S.E. Hogan Road, Gresham, OR 97080 Wildhorsefeathers 24 sweatshirts/t-shirts Web Site Nutramax Labs Cosequin buckets, hats, pens, cosequin,brochures, 3 cosequin (2 week, starter size) Web Site Shapely’s 21 gift packs with Shampoo, Hi Shine, & MTG Web Site Virginia Tack $25 gift certificate Kris Slowikowski Polish Pottery Ladle Judy Gustafson Dressage Necklace Grand Meadows Web Site Grand Complete 5 lb. Grooming Logo Bag GM T-shirt GM hat Valley Vet Supply Equine Edition Web Site Catalogs T-shirt Summit Lexol Products (Cleaner, Dressing, Carona Ointment, sponges) Straight Arrow Web Site 6 sweat scrapers 6 Spray Away Shampoo Sachet (Packets) Conditioner Sachet (Packets) Platinum Performance Web Site Equine Platinum Bars (22 bars) Equine Platinum Performance (10 lb.) Cowboy Magic $143.00 Value Web Site DONATED ON BEHALF OF SADDLES ‘N STUFF 20 16oz. Shine In Yellowout High Spirit Equine Products Brochures Tigger Montague Melyni Worth Nutrelief Web Site 20 bottles Hycel John Ewing Company Web Site 5 lb. Poulice Powder 22 Catalog packets with samples EQyss Grooming Products Web Site 25 packets containing literature & samples of Survivor Detangler Diane & Art Bird Equiglass Web Site Suncatcher Blanche Mahoney Dog Bed (Horse Design) Wicked Woman Pumpkin(plug-in) Cat Dish Toklat Originals Coat Shine/Gallop 2 Pack/Brochures Mrs. Pastures Horse Cookies

Here are the top 10 reasons why you should attend camp next year:

• 10.

  Here is your chance to keep your horse at an absolutely fabulous facility. Fancy Hill Farm has stabling

  in the indoor where your horse can watch and absorb vicariously while the lessons are going on before him. Or, if

  the great outdoors is more to his liking, you can stable your horse up on the hill behind the arena where he can

  feel the delicious fall breezes tickle his whiskers and whisper inspirational messages like "stretch down and out

  while gently chewing the reins..."

• 9.

  Relive your childhood fantasies of going to camp. If this one leaves you thinking "What is she talking about, what fantasies?"

  just contact Paula Everett from Shen VADA and ask her...

• 8.

  It is a great chance to meet new friends who share your passion ( OK, obsession, my husband calls it ) for dressage and indeed

  for horses in general. We are all using this as a chance to dump all our household responsibilities on our spouses,

  children, significant others. Hey, give me a break, my husband will have

  just gotten back from his annual backpacking trek out west a few days

  before I leave for camp, so I'm entitled...

• 7.

  These great new friends just might play some practical jokes on you... Why do they call them "practical" jokes. What is so

  practical about having toothpaste smeared all over your door knob and having your bed short sheeted? When you are

  frantically getting ready for your 8:00 ride, who has time to search for your halter that has played musical bridle

  racks with all the other halters in the barn?
  

• 6.

  Before your early ride you can join your new friends for some wake up yoga to help find all the muscles that you

  damaged in your lesson the day before. As you lay on the ground assuming

  the position formerly taken by some agonal pigeon and wondering if you

  are the only middle aged woman who cannot in fact wrap her knees around

  her neck. Of course the fact that the yoga leader can not only do these

  "poses" but look good at it...

• 5.

  You will have the opportunity to have your saddle fit evaluated by a professional and, if you are in fact

  fortunate, it will require only a minor adjustment that will drastically

  alter not only your position but your horse's way of going such that you

  will suddenly passage off across the arena and leave all your new

  friends in a total state of shock and awe...

• 4.

  You will find yourself

  renewing old friendships and finding new reasons why you liked this

  group of people in the first place. To quote a former camper, "we are

  all at our best at camp". You will be sorry when the weekend is over

  because you will have to wait a whole year to spend this type of quality

  time together again.

• 3.

  The food is great. I don't just mean good, Jan

  Keener is a fabulous cook. The only reason that you won't gain 10 pounds

  is because you will work it off in your lessons. The variety of desserts

  alone makes it worth coming to camp. Chocolate Walnut Pie, Key Lime

  Cheesecake, doesn't that sound wonderful?

• 2.

  Where else will you find

  the chance to work with such talented, generous, kind and knowledgeable

  ladies as Harriet Peterson and Liz Steacie? They are world class

  trainers, riders, teachers and they have a gift for communicating the

  magic of dressage to the rest of us. They have even become our friends

  over the years that have joined us for camp. No where can you get

  this kind of instruction for this price. Harriet brings the eye of the

  judge to her sessions and Liz is the National rider/trainer and they

  both can even climb aboard and SHOW you and your horse what it means to

  be light in the hand and over the back and yes, even YOUR horse can do

  it...

• And lastly, the number 1 reason why you should come to camp is

  that when you finally have that light bulb moment and trust him enough

  to let go of his face and ride him forward into the half halt and feel

  it go through and the big mystery is unlocked, and your abs hurt but NOT

  your shoulders and thighs and you FEEL what it is supposed to feel like,

  your horse will thank you for it. For more information on attending camp

  contact Laura Nelson at 540 382 0078 or at

  galliard@charter.net . Hope

  to see you there...

Photos From Years Past