Horse Camp and a Rodeo

Last week it was very quiet around our house. Ben was gone all week at a Boy Scout Leadership Training camp, Dad was on a business trip, and Josiah was attending day camp. The weekend brought lots of excitement at the culmination of all these events!

Ever since we kids went to ranch camp several years ago, Josiah has been waiting until he would be allowed to go. This was the year! He had a wonderful week riding the horses, doing camp activities, and making lots of new friends.

On the very last day of camp, the ranch hosts a rodeo for all the parents and family. Mom dropped Josiah off early in the morning for his last day of camp. Little did he know that there was a big surprise in the works!

Mom came home for a few hours before we had to leave for the rodeo. During that time, our Grandparents and Great Aunt arrived from Ohio. They had driven up to see Josiah’s rodeo and Ben’s graduation from his graduation program (more on that tomorrow!)

When we arrived for the rodeo later in the morning, Josiah was quite shocked to see the relatives! After he picked his jaw up off the ground, he gave a round of hugs to everyone. J

Daddy arrived from work shortly before the rodeo began. They started off with one of the ranch counselors doing a performance on one of the horses.

The kids entered the ring after running through a big banner the staff created.

They all danced to “Cotton Eyed Joe.”

Then it was time for the main part of the rodeo. Each of the three groups walked around the arena twice on their horses as the song “Somewhere over the Rainbow” played. Then each individual rode around the barrels. Josiah did a great job handling Mystique during his ride around the barrels.

At the very end, he trotted across the arena and received his medal.

The rest of us went home after congratulating Josiah. He enjoyed the rest of the day at camp doing regular camp activities.

At the end of the day when we went to pick him up, they had one final performance for the parents. The campers and counselors got up in their different groups and sang some of their favorite camp songs. It was fun!

After that we went home to get ready for the next big event that evening: Ben’s graduation from Scout camp! More on that tomorrow!