A rant to you from me.
Last year, Princess attended Y Summer camp and loved loved loved it! She did the Horsemasters Jr. camp which is for 9-11 year olds. They do horse stuff in the morning, then spend the afternoon with the other campers doing regular camp activities. She enjoyed being by the horses, but was bored with the “level” of horse involvement. It’s for riders with little or no horse experience. They learn basic horse safety, how to groom a horse, and go on a tiny trail ride each day. She’s no professional rider, but she was far past what they were doing, so they ended up using her as a helper and let her do all of her own saddling and helping the other girls.
She turned 10 in December. So this year, I called to see if she could join the 11-14 year olds for the Horsemasters program. In addition to the grooming, they do their own stable chores, take lunch rides up the canyon, etc.
They said No. There is a strict age policy. I mentioned that she did Horsemasters Jr. last year and what happened and that she jumps horses in shows (OK, baby jumps and one show, but still!) and she’s way past learning how to brush a horse and hold the reigns the right way.
Still no. No discussion allowed.
I said “OK. Thanks for your time. I guess we’ll find a different camp for her this summer.”
The lady was polite on the phone, but not at all even willing to discuss it, UNTIL I told her we’d be taking our daughter and our money elsewhere. She still wouldn’t actually discuss it, but asked me to reconsider. They’d allow her to do the more advanced stuff on her own in the Jr. program, so isn’t that enough?
Not unless she gets to go on trail rides up the canyon for lunch and clean her own stalls instead of riding around the lake in a tiny loop on a rocky/dirt trail.
Anyhoo – I’m annoyed. A week of camp is expensive. If she’s not going to get her money’s worth, then I’ll find something else.
Like the Girl Scout camp she loved last year that she could go to again this year and do the horseback riding program at.
Stick to your guns. The camp is being unreasonable. Children, who are ten are sometimes more advanced and some are more like eight year olds. They should be allowed to attend based on experience. They should have paid you for her helping the other girls last year. I would be ticked.
MIL