People keep asking me about camps, so I thought I would tell you a little story...
Busy as ever and stacked out, one of my liveries suggested that I came to camp with her. ‘It will be fun!’ she said.
Little did I know how much fun and that it was going to change my life in several ways.
I took my Vanner cob, Wilfy, because I wanted to get to know this little man better. The trouble with owning lots of horses is it’s difficult to have the intimacy that you have with just owning one. You’d never accuse Wilfy of being an affectionate horse, he was always quite aloof in some ways. But I had a deep trust for this horse and loved jumping him as much as he loved to jump, so we left the riding school in safe hands and went!
At this point in my life, competing had become much less important to me and I found being at camp, surrounded by people who did, quite hard. There were several degrees of separation between those who did and those who didn’t. But the bond I built with that little horse was immense and I was in love and hooked! I also met a mare at that camp who I feel instantly in love with – she is now in my field!
The following year twelve of us applied and only two of us got places. Understandably as it was a Riding Club camp and they ran the camps to nurture the talent of their riders. I had a miserable time at that one. The degree of separation were much bigger and I had to witness some fairly awful treatment of a four-year-old horse. All the time I was there I was thinking, there must be a better way to put on one of these for people like us, who don’t compete, might want to one day, but actually we just want to take a few days out of life, be catered for, talk horse all the time to like-minded people and feel supported in our choices.
Equestrian Camps South West was born and two months later, we ran our first camp!
The first one I organised was for friends and riding school clients, but once that was full, we had a waiting list of eighteen people that I didn’t even know. Talk about filling a gap, people were so pleased to have this chance without being members of anything! The only additional date we could get though was the week before the one with my friends. Should I do this? My first camp for total strangers? What if…
But then I gave up on the what ifs and thought, ‘Let’s do this, I only have to do these two, if I hate it, I don’t have to do anymore!’
From the start, I laid down a very strict policy. No judgement allowed. No talking about people or their horses. No comments made at the side of the ring. We support each other, knowing that everyone is doing their best and trying to learn new skills – which is never easy! And we encourage everyone to come, no matter what stage they have reached with their horses. Flatwork only to three foot plus, it’s your choice. A lot of time and effort goes into putting groups together.
The first year we ran seven camps, and around the second one someone said ‘Can you get Lucinda Green down to teach?’
So I did and the last two camps of that year, the legend that is Lucinda Green MBE was our instructor. And I was in Heaven! Nothing I’d ever done had come close to running camps. We now do one at Bicton every year too and six at Chyverton. I think by the end of this year we will have held 28 camps in total. But I’ve lost track to be honest, I just love running them!
So what do you get if you come to a camp at Chyverton Park, with Equestrian Camps South West?
Six hours of instruction by people who understand what level you’re at with your horse and will help you to improve in a way that you want to, without pushing you to do anything but at the same time, edging you out of your comfort zone steadily.
You get stabling for your horses, free bedding and the best Haylage!
Use of two schools with jumps and the awesome cross country course – for two days!!
Camping is in a lovely grassy field with no set pitches and with like-minded people - only a stone’s throw from where your horses are so that you can go and see them whenever you want to.
Friday is Pizza night, English Breakfast two days in a row, open buffet at lunch time and huge amounts of home made lasagne and cottage pie. No washing up, no cooking to do. We look after it all! We also have a great menu for Vegans and Vegetarians and there a competition for the best cake!
So that you can discover new ideas about your riding and horses, we have people doing talks in the evenings or putting on sessions for you. Sometimes there is a quiz or some puzzles to solve. But there is always lots of horsey talk and fun…and potentially a hang-over or two!
We take photos, put them on Facebook and let you do what you want with them – most people share them with their friends because they just want to show them what they’ve achieved and want their friends to come next time!
And how much would you pay for this as an individual?
Let’s see…
6 Hours of Instruction £200.00
Stabling, bedding and Haylage for 2 nights £60.00
Camping with toilets and a shower £50.00
Full catering for two days £50.00
Talks by professionals £70.00
Photos £30.00
Making lifelong friends & talking horse £Priceless
Total £460.00???
Hahaha, don’t worry, the price doesn’t even come close to that, although the value is huge!
For less than half of that cost you can join us at camp for just…. £190.00!
Go to the pinned post on the page for dates and booking info whilst there are still spaces!
These camps have changed people’s relationships with their horses and helped them go on to achieve fantastic things.
They have also changed personal relationships, so many people who met at camp now spend time riding together and socialising! If you don’t come, nothing will change much. But if you do…think of the possibilities!
I can’t wait to see you all there. I love camps and will do them for as long as there are fabulous people like you who want to do them!
Equestrian training camps to help you with your Show Jumping/Dressage/X-Country jumping at Chyverton Park and Bicton Arena. Bringing you top instructors to excellent venues at affordable prices and making it all that bit more fun!
Spend hours in the arena perfecting your craft whilst spend quality uninterrupted time with your lovely horses and other like minded people. No pressure. Improve at your own pace with support. Up to 3 hours instruction, all meals catered for, all haylage, bedding and facilities included for less than the cost of the instruction alone!
In summer you can include free camping at the venue! You just can't fail to have a great little holiday when you can come back from a day of brilliant training to home cooked food, talks by amazing people and great company!
In 2019 we will also be offering camps from venues that have excellent hacking around them so that none competitive and or long distance riders get to go on holiday with their horses too. We will hire a guide or provide maps so that you and your friends can go exploring together.
And if there are other kinds of camps you would like us to put on, let us know! We will try our best to give you the experiences you are looking to have with your horses.
We're going to take horse camps to new heights and you to new levels - don't miss out!
