The sun was baking the grounds of Alex Fraser park last weekend (June 15-17) while it played host to Quesnel’s annual Pony Club Camp.
Fifteen girls and one boy signed up for the three-day workshop, where they learned all the in-and-outs of taking care of horses (feeding, grooming etc.) and riding them.
Pony Club was started in England in 1929 as a way to educate young people about horses.
Amanda Swaan, the Pony Club rep for Alex Fraser Park, gathered some of the students out of the sun and into a barn stall for a quick lecture.
“There’s a lot of competitions that the [students] go to and one of the quizzes they have to do is ID items on a table,” she says, pointing at an assortment of what this reporter can only describe as bridles and reins.
They’re working on remembering all the names of these things.
“Even if they don’t use them, they need to know what they’re for an what they look like, so they can ID them.”
Swaan says the weekend is mostly about fun, but safety is also paramount when dealing with their mounts.
“We’re reminding them that horses are big animals and to be careful and do things properly.”
sports@quesnelobserver.com
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