By April Charlton
Contributing Writer
Pint-sized equestrians across the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara and beyond still have time to saddle up for Cindy McClellan’s summer riding camps at the Little Big Riding School in Santa Ynez, but spaces are limited and will fill up quickly.
Open to children 6 and older, who have basic horse-riding experience, McClellan has taught summer equine camps for at least the past two decades, offering a wealth of real-life, take-home horse experience from the area’s longest-running Western riding school for youth.
“At every single camp, we teach basic safety on the ground,” McClellan said. “How to move with your horse. How to groom your horse. As they get older, there’s tacking, putting on saddles, bridles. I’m very hands-on. I want them to do as much as they can. I don’t go slow.”
Her programs run weekly, beginning June 25 through June 29 with Camp One, which has also been dubbed “Farm and Barn Camp.” During the kickoff camp, kids will participate in a lot of horseback riding as well as arts and crafts in the ranch’s garden and fun farming projects, according to organizers.
All camps run from 9 a.m. to noon, and McClellan supplies the horses — she has about 15 at the ranch that she uses for the camps — saddles and tack. Cost to attend a camp is $350 or $375 depending on the weeklong session chosen.
There are five sessions, including a kids’ basic horseback camp, where they’ll learn horse decorating and compete in a contest, and a camp that has the youth learning how to ride on trails, bathe their horses, and more. Parents also have the option of signing their children up for the entire month.
“There are kids who sign up for the entire camp,” McClellan said, noting that a new element this year is the option for youth to stay for an extra three hours after the noontime camps conclude each day and participate in gardening-type projects until 3 p.m.
“They will go out into the garden and learn how to plant, and that will be available for every camp,” she added.
The cost to participate in the second-half of camp is $150, and McClellan can accommodate 20 additional students, she said.
McClellan stressed that much of her summer camp program focuses on building confidence and life skills in her young riders, which she said is achieved by letting the kids work at their own pace and by teaching them how to function as a team, to share and build a family unity.
“I also teach them to be really connected to their body and how the horse is connected to your body … how the horse responds to your body,” McClellan explained. “There’s a lot of horse backing (during the camps). It’s very organized, and the kids are super tired when they leave.”
McClellan usually has her daughter and three other instructors to help run the summer riding camps, she said.
For more information or to sign up, visit www.santaynezvalleyhorsebackriding.com or call McClellan at 805-886-2215.
Little Big Riding School is at 2035 Edison St. in Santa Ynez.
