...are those that blow between the ears of a horse.

Cowgirl Camp:  A small and dedicated group of young women spending the week together working hard, playing hard, and riding 'till they are sore.

This week we have a small group that is big on enthusiasm and long on inspiration.  We have some adventures planned, and are also looking forward to some quiet moments for personal reflection, and building the kinds of friendships that last a lifetime.

 Hi folks,

On Friday night, to celebrate such an awesome week of skillful riding, boundless creativity, and hard work putting hay in, we went over to our neighbors’ farm for a good old-fashioned jamboree. It was one of those long, warm July evenings, when it seems like the sun will never quite set...and no one really wants it to, either!

First we picked some scrumptious raspberries for a special desert and a crepe breakfast on Saturday…

The crew worked hard this week to unload and stack 3 loads of hay in the barn....all before breakfast!  The truck arrives at 7:00 on hay mornings and if we work fast we can be at breakfast by 8:30.  The girl-evator swung the bales up the stack like it was nothing, and now when we feed we have to duck under the rafters to keep from bumping our heads! 

Following this week’s theme, we have been creating many things of beauty…

This week at Ekone was full of all sorts of fun projects and adventures.....never a dull moment around here!

A few hightlights of the week included making art from all sorts of recycled/reused materials, learning how to make batik prints on fabric, writing projects, landscaping around the newly remodeled longhouse, puting hay in the barn (twice!), and of course lots and lots of riding.

After a scrumptious feast of local, humanely raised ham, cook Chris’ famous baked beans, potato salad, and kale from the garden, we gathered in the lodge for the first 2009 Creativity Night. There was singing and dancing, an art gallery, some lovely piano and flute playing, and short skits. This sure is a creative group!

There is perhaps nothing more touching or inspirational as watching the children connect with the horses, and seeing their riding improve so greatly over the course of the week.

So much of riding is about trust: learning to trust the horse, and learning to trust yourself. With patience, determination, and a consuming joy for the process, each child also learns of an inner strength they may not have known that they had.