Here at Keystone Camp, the barn is usually a place of hustle and bustle on any given day. It’s a place where many campers choose to spend a part of their daily activities, and where we try very hard to be intentional about the interactions campers have with their four-legged friends. There are more than a few “horse crazy” girls who come to camp every summer, and even more who end up being so when they leave.
For as long as I’ve been alive, I’ve been an animal lover. Well, I’m not a fan of snakes. Even though Patriarch Page assures me they have a respective place in society, I’m happy to respect their purpose from afar. Most recently, I’ve become a pig lover. If you’ve been to camp in the past few years, you’ve hopefully gotten to meet the new residents Page has graciously allowed to live at camp since I live here also. Surprisingly, they’ve been a hit for our campers as well. So much so that I had a few campers in our July session last summer propose to me levels for “Pigmanship:” a new activity they created for camp.
Disclaimer: We will not be offering “Pigmanship” at camp this summer.
It was so fun to see one of Keystone’s core values, leadership, come forth in the initiative these girls took to show their love for their split-hooved friends.
I love dogs, pigs, goats, chickens, ferrets, hamsters, kittens, and anything else that might snuggle with me. But horses have held a place in my heart for more than 30 years. They’ve ingrained in me a love and appreciation for what and who they are because, at a young age, they helped pave a road to save me. I lost my father when I was just eight years old. He was the sole provider for our family, and his quick departure from a battle with lung cancer left me feeling straight up angry. My mother, in all her faith-filled wisdom, suggested I find something that would help bring me peace, and enrolled me in a horse lesson program operated out of Keystone Camp during the school year. Even before employing me, Keystone has provided one of the sources of strength in my life from early on. Horses were an outlet for me. I had control over some things, but most things I did not. I learned quickly that when a 1,000lb animal requires your full attention and emotional control, you do not have much choice but to comply. Comply or quit; and I’m too stubborn to quit. Since that time, in return, every horse has taught me a lesson I can apply to everyday life. Horses have been a key influence in helping me understand just how important it is to ensure these opportunities of learning are passed onto our campers.
The best part about what I do here at Keystone is seeing the values we try to instill in our girls crossing over into the “why behind the what” of their time at the barn. Horses are sensitive animals. They live their life based on intentions. Scientific studies have shown that a horse can hear a human heart beat from at least four feet away. Whatever we’re feeling at the moment, a horse can instinctively tap into that. They are much better about reading people than people are about reading people. We spend a good deal of time helping our girls take heed of how their intentions (preconceived or not) can affect their experiences during their time at the barn. Horses can perceive kindness, anger, nervousness, acceptance, self-assurance, etc., sometimes even before our girls can identify that feeling for themselves. And because horses are ALWAYS honest, they’ll never lie about how you make them feel. What a valuable relationship to have! If we can teach our girls to mirror these positive intentions they learn in their time with the horses, how much better are their relationships going to be with each other?!
Being at the barn here at camp is about a lot more than riding. You can only learn so much when you throw your leg over a horse for 30 minutes a day. Will you progress along in your skills of learning how to get that rhythm of the posting trot, or build up that leg and core strength to be able to pop over some jumps? Sure! And all those skills we strive to see developed in a camper’s time here. It’s what our skills progression system recognizes at Sunday and final campfires. But what is most important to me, and hopefully to all of you, is seeing the passion for the progress that drives a young girl to continue on. The passion that is there when a girl has nothing left but the desire to push through and overcome that fear of a first time canter. The passion to figure out how to get the laziest horse she has ever ridden to just trot five strides longer than she did the last go around the arena. The passion to understand that, when we take care of our horses and put in the effort off of their backs, they in turn put in the effort when we are on. The passion to figure out why something went wrong in her ride and strive to overcome the ease of blaming her circumstances.
Passion brings forth fulfillment. Fulfillment is something that sustains us, and what I hope each girl who comes through those barn doors leaves with every summer and takes home with her.
