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 Following three weeks of lessons and a pair of in-house competitions, riders from camp ventured out to their first open horse show Sunday afternoon, facing off against other camps and area riders at the Adirondack Horse Show at Willow Hill Farm in Clintonville, NY.
With the stakes considerably higher than at previous events, the riders displayed not only talent, but courage. One MacCready rider was thrown from a horse while another fell, along with the horse. Fortunately, both riders were back at camp doing activities by late afternoon. “Riding is a demanding skill and these girls are very courageous,” said camp Director Sharp Swan.
Forty boys and girls took part in seven classes-- due to the heat, some classes were canceled. Pok-O-MacCready took first place blue ribbons in six of those classes (see results here), led by Heidi Taggart, who took a first, second and third in the low hunter divisions. “It was hot, but a lot of fun,” reflected Taggart. It was nice to see that even though we’ve only been riding for a few weeks, we’ve gotten much better!” Other class winners: Matt Graff, Lilah Burke, Jessica Sieger, Katie Gigantiello, Emilia Malpeso and Julia Schweitzer.
Sadly, this was the final event for riding Director Leann Eveleigh. Following six years on staff, the past three as director, Eveleigh is returning to England to get married later this summer. “She has been wonderful for our program and we’ll miss her a lot,” said Swan. “Maybe she’ll be back next year; We’ll find a place on staff for her husband!” Catherine Harrison will lead the program for the balance of the schedule, which includes one more show at Willow Hill, and two competitions to be staged at Camp MacCready.
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hours. A tribal champion will be decided by Wednesday evening. This past Friday, Chiefs, Sachems and Storytellers from all five tribes visited the Iroquois museum in Onchiota, NY. “We leanred about their language, and how they made trails from rocks,” reflected camp’s Onondaga Chief Alex Schade. Seneca Chief Jacob Gittler was impressed with the “morality tale about looking upward,” while Georgia Ladd, Sachem for the Onondaga, said “we saw how they made fires. It was a very interesting day.”