Students at Williams Woods University's horse camp found an interesting way to combat the heat last week.
"It's definitely hot this week, but we have been handling it with lots of ice cream and cookies," said Melanie Norby, a 17-year-old dressage rider from St. Peters.
She participated in the college's annual Equestrian Academic Camp June 1722.
For the past 26 years, horse lovers from around the world have attended the university's riding camp. Unique from past years, this summer's camp was only open to high-school-aged serious equestrians. Participants were required to submit riding videos as part of the application process.
Students may have been sleeping in the university residence halls, but they lived in the on-campus barns. They rode horses, attended educational equine health classes, performed horse-handling exercises and learned about great masters of the equestrian industry. The campers approached every ride, technique and class with open minds and a willingness to be pushed.
"The horse health class has been my favorite part," said Hensley Moses, a 15-year old dressage rider from Norman, Oklahoma. "Getting to learn horse anatomy has been awesome."
The equestrian faculty decided to focus on a smaller group this year, so only 13 students took part in the camp. As a result, the riders received lots of personal one-on-one lessons with professors and even rode horses that have earned national championship titles.
"Butters is really responsive and listens very well to aids," Keziah Gragg, 15, of Springfield, Illinois, said. "He's so cute, too."
Jennie Petterson, professor and director of the William Woods School of Equestrian Studies, spent a lot of time with the campers said they radiated enthusiasm.
"I believe true horsemanship comes from learning everything you can about horses," she added. "Riding is certainly important, but learning about horse care, training, instruction and developing your horse handling skills when you are not in the saddle is a game changer. This isn't a riding camp, but rather a horsemanship camp."