Jessica's horse camp

This year, Jess went to Meadow Vue Ranch, a working ranch near Island Park, ID that lets young people come stay for a week or two and ride horses non-stop. She had a wonderful time!

Here she is on her horse Vern. She rode and cared for Vern all week. (make sure you notice her sassy red cowboy boots, complete with spurs!)


Jess went to horse camp with her friend Braedyn. Braedyn's horse was named Magpie, and she told us Magpie had a reputation for being the brattiest horse on the ranch. Braedyn didn't agree, though, and fell in love with Magpie. Both girls were so sad to leave their horses at the end of the week.


Part of the camp experience included participating in rodeos on Wed, Fri, and Sat nights. Jessica's favorite rodeo event was Pole Racing, where she rode Vern weaving twice through six poles. Doesn't she look like a regular rodeo princess waving on horseback?


Braedyn's mom Julie and sister Lauren came with me on Saturday night to pick up the girls. We got to watch the evening's rodeo, and Lauren won her first rodeo trophy! They had an event for children 9 and under where they tied a ribbon to a calf's tail and let the kids chase down the terrified calf until one of them snatched the ribbon. Here is Lauren holding what we referred to as her "Poopy Ribbon." It was a proud moment for all of us!


After the rodeo, we ate a big barbeque steak dinner and then watched the girls do some line dancing to the live cowboy music. Just look at the valley stretching out beyond the ranch. It was a true western scene, the kind of place you can't believe exists anymore. During their stay at camp, the girls spent time trail-riding through those beautiful hills and even rounded up cows. We got to meet some of the friends they made at camp, and it sounds like they had an amazing week.