Horse camp teaches kids about the equine arts
<p>Vincent Temple, seated above on a horse, gets a ride led by Mary Grace Donally at the Tarkio Equestrian Center on Wednesday.</p>
Children as young as five and as old as ten were afforded an education in all things horse related at a camp outside of Superior last Wednesday at the Tarkio Equestrian Center.
Approximately 40 kids from across the county were provided the opportunity to learn about horses, identify different types of horses and finally to ride the horses. Led by Marc Haskins assisted by a team of helpers, the day featured a wide variety of activities.
Campers were divided into teams and made their way from station to station throughout the day. One station featured a ride on a trailer behind an ATV with Haskins teaching the kids about the different styles of horses. Campers were asked to identify what color the horses were and how to tell the difference between male and female.
Another station set in the indoor riding arena allowed campers to actually take to the saddle under the diligent supervision of camp staff. One young person, initially apprehensive about taking to the saddle, noticed a smaller horse and decided he wanted to take a ride.
Vincent Temple, grandson of Superior resident Peggy Temple, said at first he did not want to ride a horse. But when he saw there was a one a little smaller than the others, he decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Temple said after the ride he was glad he overcame his initial fear.
“It was really fun,” Temple said. “I had a really good time.”
Haskins said the camp was a way to encourage young people to maintain an interest in horses and to foster an appreciation in equine knowledge. He said instilling a knowledge of horses in children was important if they one day choose to participate in horse-related activities such as a rodeo.
“We want to keep kids interested in case they one day want a horse of their own or if they want to keep riding or even get into rodeo,” Haskins said. “We want to keep interest up. I think the camp went really well. The kids were really excited about it. A lot of the kids said they wanted to come back next year.”
The Tarkio Equestrian Center located just off exit 61 on Highway 90 features an indoor riding arena, seating area and offers access to hundreds of acres of National Forest Lands for trail riding.
The facility also provides pasture and stall boarding, arena use, clinics, riding lessons and horse training.