4-H Horse Camp held recently

FARMINGTON – The week of July 17th was a fantastic one for the 20 girls who attended the Franklin County 4-H Horse Camp held on the Farmington Fairgrounds. In spite of the steamy weather, the girls who came from Farmington, Temple, Chesterville, North New Portland, Strong and Wilton, rode with four instructors with different specialties and attended workshops that covered horse teeth, horse feet and everything in between.

For many of the girls, it was their first time at Horse Camp, for some it was their first time on a horse. Other girls at the camp have been riding for years and one of the highlights for them was an evening working on Drill Team patterns with instructor Katherine Murphy from Blazing Star Stable in Monmouth.

Temple resident Beth Nicholas, and part-time resident Aiden Shankland were among the members of the Temple-based Giddy-Up & Go 4-H Horse Club who attended the Franklin County Horse Camp at the Farmington Fairgrounds this past week. This was Beth’s first time at Camp and Aiden’s sixth year.

Both girls thought the camp was terrific. Aiden said it was one of the best horse camps yet, and Beth was thrilled to have complete responsibility for a horse for a full week.

Farmington resident Jennifer Hinds, an alternate for this year’s Maine Eastern States Team, used the week to concentrate on her equestrian skills. She will be able to go to the Eastern States competition if another rider drops out so the practice time was important to her.

Sophie Seigle, also from Farmington, didn’t know until just a few days before the 17th that she would be going to the camp. Even though she got a few small injuries during the week, she was generally seen sporting a huge grin.

The week was spent caring for horses, talking about horses, learning about horses and taking riding lessons. Parent-volunteers provided meals and supervision and many of the instructors volunteered their time as well. While Franklin County 4-H sponsors the camp, it is the efforts of the volunteers that make it work.

For more information about the Franklin County 4-H Horse Clubs, contact Judy Smith at the Franklin County Extension office at 778-4650.