Fabulous Weekend!

Hi Helen and Rob,

Just a quick email to say a very big Thank You for a really lovely weekend. We had a fabulous time camping at Saddle Camp (despite the storm and Gazebo crisis!), you and your family were just so lovely and made us so very welcome. Your boys are great and Carson really kept us entertained! 

The spotlight tour, and the chance for the kids to help out with the horses really made it special, unique and exciting. 

I can’t tell you how much both Dylan and Kayleigh LOVED the Gymkhana you did with them. They both had such a good time, even Dylan who is more of screen/gaming boy than anything outdoors, raved about it. Thank you so so much for letting him join in, it’s not normally something he’d think of doing, so it was a fabulous opportunity for him. For Kayleigh it was a real treat, she loves horses and she had an amazing day. Neither of them wanted to go home at the end of the weekend!

Thanks again. And extra thanks to Rob for unpacking his truck for the spotlight tour :-)

Hope to see you again soon!

Karen, Andrew, Dylan and Kayleigh x

Lorraine & Rob - Happy Campers

Dear Rob, Helen & Boys, 
29-02-16 to 4-03-16 WOW what a wonderful 4 days! From the time we drove in we were made to feel like long lost friends; Helen & Carson running out to meet us with a big welcome "What can I do to make your stay pleasant?" Finding a place to put the van (Ha ha ha) followed up by "Is everything ok?" as Helen went about this and that. And we loved keeping-up our grandparenting skills, playing with the boys and having them visit us at the van. 

We loved our 4 day stay, thank you all for your kindness. All the best for your future venture

God Bless, 
Lorraine & Rob  

Thank you to the lovely girls from Northbridge who stayed for a Long Weekend Camp!

Dear Helen

Sorry it’s taken me so long to write to say a huge thank you for having the Northbridge girls to Saddle Camp at the weekend.  They all had such a good time and as Lucy’s mum, I honestly can say that she loved it all.  She thought it was absolutely amazing and that you are fantastic!  Thank you so much. I know she would love to come again and was so thrilled to get the trophy.  Thank you and your husband and your gorgeous boys.

Hope you have a good and busy rest of the holidays and get a break once everyone’s gone back to school.

Thank you again.

Best wishes

Mary (Lucy’s mum) 

Pfadfinder Girls Scout Group

Does the sound of hooves and whinnying set your cubs or scouts into paroxysms of glee and delight?  Take them horse riding at a fully accredited riding camp!  

Warning! Once you have been to The Saddle Camp once, the girls in your cub pack will be continually nagging the leaders to take them back again, and again, and again!

My daughter wanted to go horse riding, and we wondered if any of her friends from scouts would like to come along.  A quick email out to families produced a flurry of extremely positive replies and suddenly we had many more girls than horses!

We're now on our fourth trip, taking groups of girls out to The Saddle Camp in Braidwood for some horse riding action and lessons!  It is a girls-only riding adventure camp, the horses are wonderful, the owners delightful, the food delicious, and we always have the time of our lives!  

What we especially like about this camp is:
* the owners, Helen and Rob, pull out all the stops to make our visit memorable.
* if we stay overnight, we take our tents and sleeping bags, and they let us camp on their property, in amongst all their beautiful horses and the sweeping views of historic Braidwood's surrounding hills and valleys.
* in winter we have a campfire, and in summer we can swim in a fabulous water hole near by.
* our leaders do badge-work and run orienteering courses and bushcraft or first aid lessons with one group, while Helen and her team of horse-loving helpers take the other group for their horse riding lessons, adventures, horse-back games and trail rides.  The groups rotate, so everyone gets to do everything on offer.
* Helen can cater to any theme or riding level, and recently we ran a first aid weekend there; we worked on our first aid badges for cubs, and Helen ran lessons and games for us about first aid for horses!
* There is an on-site cafe and bakery, and it is definitely worth paying a little extra to have Rob organise all the meals for the camp.  Delicious!!  Take your mess kits, water bottles, and enjoy!
* Rob's delicious coffee and bakery items, and the relaxing atmosphere of the venue, make it a favourite amongst our mother parent helpers.
* they do take boys during the day, but not overnight. 
* you can go for a day trip, or a weekend sleepover camp.
* the cubs and scouts we've taken absolutely love that they can spend so much time with the horses.

So, trot off to the Saddle Camp website and see for yourselves.  You'll soon be galloping towards a wonderful activity, sure to become a regular favourite.
 

Saddle Camp for Scouts!

Does the sound of hooves and whinnying set your cubs or scouts into paroxysms of glee and delight?  Take them horse riding at a fully accredited riding camp!  

Warning! Once you have been to The Saddle Camp once, the girls in your cub pack will be continually nagging the leaders to take them back again, and again, and again!

My daughter wanted to go horse riding, and we wondered if any of her friends from scouts would like to come along.  A quick email out to families produced a flurry of extremely positive replies and suddenly we had many more girls than horses!

We're now on our fourth trip, taking groups of girls out to The Saddle Camp in Braidwood for some horse riding action and lessons!  It is a girls-only riding adventure camp, the horses are wonderful, the owners delightful, the food delicious, and we always have the time of our lives!  

What we especially like about this camp is:
* the owners, Helen and Rob, pull out all the stops to make our visit memorable.
* if we stay overnight, we take our tents and sleeping bags, and they let us camp on their property, in amongst all their beautiful horses and the sweeping views of historic Braidwood's surrounding hills and valleys.
* in winter we have a campfire, and in summer we can swim in a fabulous water hole near by.
* our leaders do badge-work and run orienteering courses and bushcraft or first aid lessons with one group, while Helen and her team of horse-loving helpers take the other group for their horse riding lessons, adventures, horse-back games and trail rides.  The groups rotate, so everyone gets to do everything on offer.
* Helen can cater to any theme or riding level, and recently we ran a first aid weekend there; we worked on our first aid badges for cubs, and Helen ran lessons and games for us about first aid for horses!
* There is an on-site cafe and bakery, and it is definitely worth paying a little extra to have Rob organise all the meals for the camp.  Delicious!!  Take your mess kits, water bottles, and enjoy!
* Rob's delicious coffee and bakery items, and the relaxing atmosphere of the venue, make it a favourite amongst our mother parent helpers.
* they do take boys during the day, but not overnight. 
* you can go for a day trip, or a weekend sleepover camp.
* the cubs and scouts we've taken absolutely love that they can spend so much time with the horses.

So, trot off to the Saddle Camp website and see for yourselves.  You'll soon be galloping towards a wonderful activity, sure to become a regular favourite.

This beautlful letter was written by a Leader of the Pfadfinder Girl Scouts in ACT.
 

From Lisa & Kate

DATE : Wed, 20 Apr 2011
TO : saddlecamp
FROM : Lisa


Dear Helen, Thanks so much for another wonderful Horsemanship Day. I did manage to
dry my eyes enough to make it back to Canberra... but they began leaking
again when I got home and related the day's experiences to my folks!

The whole experience was just so dreamy and perfect for Kate - I really
could not have asked for better. Her mind was reeling with all the
things she learned, at the end of the day.

I loved how there was so much to learn from you (let's get realistic
here: I learned a lot!!) - not just about horses and riding, but about
teaching, and about getting along with people and animals in a
sensitive, caring way. This you do so well: it is a genuine forte of
yours.

I also liked how you used every event as an opportunity to teach and
reassure the students and horses - for example, when one of the horses
suddenly got the jitters and pulled away from the fence where he was
tied up.

I thought your property was beautiful (what magnificent views over the
dam, and through the trail riding forest), and looked well cared for.
Everything looked well maintained, appealing, clean and safe, so as a
parent of a prospective overnight camper, I would feel confident in
entrusting my precious daughter with you for a camp experience.


Lunch and morning tea looked delicious, nicely presented and well
thought out.


We appreciated your highly positive attitude, and the high degree of
respect you showed to all the students and the horses.

Thanks for giving us such a great day. Thanks for the opportunity to
walk around with Dexter too - I hope he wasn't too overheated after our
trail ride walk in the beautiful sunshine.

I talked to Kate about the horsemanship trophy, and she explained she
didn't want to take it because she already had one, and she wanted to
make sure that someone else had a chance to get that one. She fell
asleep with a big grin, wearing her Saddle Camp rosette, in the car on
the way home, after stopping at Rob's old employer's for a hot cross bun.


Many thanks again. Kate is saving up her pocket money to come again! 

Lisa

From Bec, Hanah & Tom

DATE : Tue, 4 Oct 2011
TO : saddlecamp
FROM : Bec 


Hi Helen I just wanted to thank you so much for the wonderful experience that you gave 
Hanah and Tom today!! I asked them if their day was 'a good one' or 'just totally awesome' 
and they couldn't respond quick enough that it was 'totally awesome'. They spent the whole of 
dinner time telling their dad, so proudly, all of the things they had learnt today. Hanah asked 
me before she left, if she could please 'sleep over' and Tom was so upset that he couldn't sleep over!! 
They are so keen and excited to come back on Thursday rain, hail or shine - wild horses wouldn't 
drag them away.

You are an amazing woman who oozed enthusiasm and energy all day - and then you still manage to be a fabulous mum at the same time!!

Thank you so very much.

From Bec Rudd

From Nicole & Charlotte

DATE : Tue, 4 Oct 2011
TO : saddlecamp
FROM : Nicole 


Hi Helen I cannot thankyou enough for the wonderful day Charlotte had today. 
Your SaddleCamp is a credit to you and your husband. Your energy and love of horses shine
through to the kids and they are just inspired by you. Your patience and ability to stay on top 
of everything (with a small child on your back) leaves me speechless. Charlotte who is a 
very shy girl is begging me to let her come back and ride with you again. Her ribbon is already
on her bedroom door and I know she is dreaming of her adventures tonight and the ones she is planning for the future.

Helen, you are an angel that has fallen right out of horse heaven.

We hope to see you again soon.

 

Kindest regards Nicole de la Rue