Horse Camp Provides a Non-Traditional Experience

The Barn started welcoming campers back into the stables last week, and Horse Camp is in full swing for the rest of the summer. Horse Camp is an adventure camp program designed for campers looking for an equine-specific camp experience.

Campers are assigned their own horse for the week to bond with, groom and ride on the trails through Camp’s pastures and forests. They also participate in arena lessons to improve upon position and riding technique, as well as ride their horses to their overnight spot on Wednesday.

This summer’s Horse Camp Unit Leader is Maddy Priebe, and it’s her 12th summer at Camp Ondessonk.

“I wanted to be a Unit Leader, because I worked in Horse Camp last year, and I really found a lot of joy in it. Seeing a kid really experience their first time up on a horse… it really drew me to it because they get to experience something no one else gets to experience here at Camp,” Priebe said.

Campers are fully immersed in the equestrian experience, including sleeping in the Barn and learning how to care for their horses.

Horse Camper Catherine said her favorite thing this week is, “making friends and seeing horses that [she] hasn’t seen in awhile.”

This is camper Ryan’s second year at the stables, returning after a fun-filled experience last summer.

“I like having my own horse for the week because you get to bond with them, and you know their personality so it’s easier to ride with them,” Ryan said.

Priebe loves the unique programming Horse Camp provides campers with:

“It’s is not like the traditional units because we have a lot of leeway with our programming, so we ask the campers what they are most excited for, and we try to tie it in within our scheduling. It’s a big learning curve, so everything we do within the Barn is a learning experience, and these experiences can be taken outside of Camp as well. So, this is like the first step that kids get within their equestrian career here.”

All riding levels are welcome to sign-up,, but for campers who are proficient at trotting or have previous Horse Camp sessions under their belt, they can sign up for Advanced Horse Camp, with leveled-up equine programming.