We Love Our Summer Staff, Part 2: Taylor & Gemma

It's been a week, and you guys have asked for more staff bios— so here's two ladies you will remember from last summer and the summer before! Both of these young women plan on being Ad Staff members in 2012, and we are lucky to have them back again. So, without further ado, here's Taylor and Gemma!

Taylor, age 20,  studying in San Marcos, TX

University/Job: Texas State University at San Marcos, Site Director for YMCA of Austin Afterschool

State: Texas

Noteworthy skills/hobbies/talents: Singing, improv, planning & programming

Exciting things you've done this year: Moved into my first apartment!

Favorite memory of CFA 2011: All of my awesome cabins and Raggers!

Place on camp you could always be found last year: Ragger's Point

Favorite core value: Honesty

Favorite snack: Neopolitan ice cream sandwich

Must have items for working at summer camp: Chacos, sunglasses, CamelBak, sunscreen, deodorant and bobby pins!

Advice you'd give to counselors: Sleep on your 24s!

Advice you'd give to counselors: Stick it out and become and LIT, CIT and counselor!

Looking forward to: Being on Ad Staff!!!!

Quote to live by: "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Gemma, age 24, from England

University attending (and current job): Studying Access to Higher Education at Warwickshire College and working as a Gym Instructor

Country I'm living in: ENGLAND!!! :)

Hobbies, skills, talents: Random skill=Touching my nose with my tongue, Hobby=LOVE working out in the gym and Talent=Being amused by the simplest things...EVER

What exciting things have I done in the past year? Been offered a place on a degree to study Sport & Fitness Management starting on my return from Texas 2012 AND being asked to be a bridesmaid with my sister at my Mum's wedding in May 

Favourite memory from CFA 2011? Leaving the humming bird feeder full of yummy food on the tree outside the cabins and getting super excited with the campers when we spotted one out there (and giving the humming birds we saw their own names...can't remember the names now though)

Place I could most often be found? In the crows nest out at high ropes (once I'd got over the height issue), ORRR....making loads of lanyards down at the arts and craft shed

Favourite core value: Caring, I think that all of the core values can fit into this one, a kind word, thought or action can have a huge impact on somebody or in a situation.

Favourite snack time ice-cream: Ice cream sandwich!!!

Must have items when working at summer camp: Got to be a smile, a camera, and a waer bottle!

Advice I'd give to other counselors: Remember the reason that you are there, be the best that you can be and be somebody that you yourself would be proud to know...and enjoy every second of it - even when you are tired!!! (summer camp goes far too quickly but the memories last forever!!!) :)

Advice I'd give to the summer campers: Don't be afraid to be true to yourself, make the most of the time that you are at camp because all of the friends that you make will be like family, and the experiences and memories that come with camp will last long after you're heading back home.

What I'm looking forward to about this summer: Meeting new and old friends, having a great time with all of the campers and attempting to break my previous photo taking record!

Quote to live by: Be the change that you want to see in the world. —Ghandi

A Note from Angel

The following is a message sent from our 2011 Male Village Leader, Angel, to our new Summer Program Director. Bif had asked his returning staff members what he needed to know about CFA. Below is Angel's response.

Many of you know Angel and have gotten to appreciate his sage words of advice before. If you haven't, we suspect you will be surprised and moved by his eloquence.

Angel, at the BB Range. Summer 2011.

Bif,

... I've never worked at any other camps so I dont really know if it differs but this place is pretty special. It has a soul. You can see it in the kids faces, hear it their laughter, or hear it at night in the winds rustling the treetops around campfire.

It is honestly a place of healing. The world outside may have told the kids and even members of staff that they weren't good enough or left them broken and hurt. But Camp Flaming Arrow aims to be the one place where someone can always help you regain your confidence or find it anew. It has this ability, a sort of magnetism that retains the good and repels the bad.

It may seem that I'm beating around the bush as to what you should be looking forward to, but I cant think of just one thing.

For some people it may be hard to understand something which they have never, seen, touched, heard, experienced so this may not make sense to them or even seem real but once you experience it and feel the spirit of this place you are faced with the unrelenting reality that you have stumbled upon a sanctuary for the willing, the broken, the sad, the happy, the talkative and everyone in between.

So in an attempt to encapsulate this thought into answer I should say that you should look forward to the experience that you'll be a part of for so many kids and staff.

Angel

Giddy Up, CFA— Your Fall Horse Update

Howdy howdy, campers, staff and families. I haven't written in a few weeks and wanted to share some of the exciting changes we are planning for the YMCA Camp Flaming Arrow's Equestrian Education program in 2012.

Three great NightRyders on Whiskers, Cash, and Rocky.

The NightRyders program was a big hit for 6 of the 8 camp weeks this year. NightRyders offered some of the more advanced teen riders one or two nights during their week to come out and try their hand at a different equine activity— some nights it was beginner jumping, sometimes trying out English or Australian riding styles and saddles, riding bareback, or trying their hand at competitive trail riding obstacles with Tiffany and myself. Some Ryders loped for the first time. This was the first year for the group and participants were chosen on a volunteer basis. Next year, due to demand, we will do our best to ensure in advance riders who are interested and eligible (must be a teen and been enrolled in Saddle Club or another year-round equine activity for at least two years) have a chance to try at least one NightRyder activity. If you have any suggestions for safe, fun, and exciting horse programming for our best riders to try, let us know in the comments section below!

Camp favorite Salty and his Saddle Club rider, Week 7.

Currently, we are in the planning stages of expanding the CFA Saddle Club from 12 to 18 members. To do this safely, we hope to have a total of four equestrian staff who can accommodate two groups of riders on two different curricula, who will rotate trail riding classes, round pen classes, and arena classes.  Each week of summer camp, we have to turn away potential Saddle Club riders who were unable to sign up in time to claim their spot. We hope to serve more horse-crazy (or at least, horse-curious!) children who want to ride.

Young campers giving horseback riding their first try.

With the potential expansion of riders, we will continue to look for quality horses who meet the high standards set for a Great Camp Horse! Not all of ours are beautiful, but it takes calm, courage, intelligence, and patience to be a camp mount and we are in the process of acquiring three new horses this fall. With spring retreats coming, we'll have a chance to see how these horses do in the high-pressure situation of camp, and they may make the cut to be part of our string for summer 2012. The camp mustang colts, Indigo and Flint, are not ready for full-time camper duties yet, but are still undergoing training and fine-tuning and we would love to see them being ridden by advanced campers in 2013.  I'll be attending clinics this fall to continue to develop my own skills, including natural horsemanship workshops and dressage lessons. Hopefully I can bring a lot of that back to CFA

As for your summer 2011 Equestrian Staff, who both love their own brand of competitive trail riding— Tiffany and her horse, Rocky, continue to compete in American Competitive Trail Horse Association (visit ACTHA.us for more information) rides and I continue my involvement with the North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC.org.) We have facilitated several retreats this fall, with many more planned in the spring, and CFA Adopt-a-Horse riding lessons continue throughout the year. Both of us have acquired mustangs from the Bureau of Land Management and spend time on a daily or weekly basis training them to be great trail horses of the future.

Tiffany & Rocky on a competitive ride near Ingram, TX.

Bandit & I riding near Caprock Canyon.

Happy trails to all of you readers,
And hope your lives are full and happy!

— "MA"

New Rainy Day Activities!

This is your chance. Choose a rainy day activity you would like to see added to camp. Take a look at the videos and cast your vote on Facebook or here on our blog!

See which cabin can make the longest one of those.

Have each cabin send a person up to compete in the minute game. Who completes the most would win.

A little longer of a game, but each cabin would choose a participant and they would get CFA points to choose a prize at the end. 

Choosing activities and making decisions about camp is what we do at the Youth Empowerment Retreat. You get to make decisions on how to make camp better. It is Dec. 9th - 11th. It is also a ragger's retreat. Don't for get to sign up if you interested.

Advice from a Saddle Club Pro

Dear CFA family,

Ryne and I have been asking for guest bloggers to write up some of their camp experiences to be published here at Hey Hey CFA. Jen is an amazing young woman and a camper of several years, who was my first volunteer to write about her Saddle Club experiences. I gave her a few pretty simple questions to answer, and she ended up writing this wonderful essay describing her summers at YMCA Camp Flaming Arrow. She also has some great advice for campers new and old. Read it and enjoy! I feel so blessed to teach riding students like Jen every summer— I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

— "MA"

        Hey, Hey CFA.....Hay is for Horses! My name Is Jen Alexander. I am fifteen years old and I live in San Antonio, Texas. I am a competitive swimmer and I am a brown Ragger. (Raggers is a special program at CFA.) I have been in Saddle Club for five years, since I started camp at the age of ten. The reason I choose to be part of Saddle Club is because I am one of those kids who love horseback riding, but I don't have the money to own a horse and I live in the suburbs of San Antonio. I am a horse lover so Saddle Club is that one week out of 52 that I get to live my dream as a horseback rider and I get to say that one phrase I love to say: "That's my horse". If you share the same story then Saddle Club will give you that experience. 

         I enjoy every part of Saddle Club. Saddle Club lets you experience being a horseback rider. You get to enjoy the ability to "own" a horse for a week. The games you do will be fun and teach good posture when you are in the saddle. The games help you become better equestrians. You also get to learn good horsemanship, how to brush your horse and put the saddle on your horse. You get to learn how to walk and trot on your horse. Trotting is a faster pace than a walk. Older kids may even learn how to canter. Cantering, or loping, is a faster pace than a trot. There is a special trail ride that the Saddle Club gets to go on. We get to ride our horses up to Mt. Vesper. Mt. Vesper is this cliff mountain that has a cross on it. The older kids get to eat s'mores up there. It's a pretty view. You can see all of the camp from that point. 

        I think all the horses are amazing. So don't worry about getting a crazy horse because they are all sweet and compatible. My favorite horses for beginner riders are Jb and Karat. Jb is a Spanish quarter horse. I rode him for 2 years. He is a pony but prefers to be called a small horse. He is sweet and gentle. He is the handsomest pony in the barn. He is a great listener and doesn't get super crazy. I love to put his long bangs into a ponytail. He makes funny faces when I do that. :) He has a fast yet smooth walk and his trot is fast. Karat is a pretty mare and she is a Arabian/Quarter horse. She is sassy girl but is honestly sweet. When you trot her she makes funny faces that are awesome to catch on camera. Don't worry if she does that because that's just her. She has a smooth trot and walk. She can ride both English and western so if you only know one way don't worry because she knows both. 

        For advanced riders that ride back at home but never have ridden at CFA, Marquee and is a fun horse for you. I rode him for two years. He is a Thoroughbred. He is the biggest horse in the barn. He has a nice slow walk and a really fast trot so he is perfect to do a posting trot on. He has a calm personality and listens well too. He has a fast canter that's rough but he's only eight, so he might become smoother as he gets older.  Last summer I got the privilege to ride one of the new mustangs named Indigo. He is so cute and calm. If you are an advanced rider you might get to ride him. He has a nice slow walk and a slow trot. When I rode him you liked to go anywhere he wanted to go but he listens well. He is a class clown. He likes to make funny faces and knock down things. He is a very curious little fellow. He doesn't bite or buck which was a surprise to me since he is from the wild. 

        Take my advice young Jedi, because it will determine your life or death here at CFA...I am just playing with you but I recommend you take it. I recommend boot cut or jeans that aren't tight because if you don't want to rip your favorite pair of super tight skinny jeans than I would pick up a pair of loose jeans at Target or Old Navy. Also, about jeans, I wouldn't wear jeans with holes in them because than you can get them caught on the fence or on hooks on the saddle. I would keep your riding clothes in a separate bag just in case if you fall into wild grass and you find out that you are allergic to it and get hives. Been there done that, don't want to have Mickey Mouse hands. I recommend you don't wear flats or TOMS because they don't do to well in mud and poop. At least you can clean tennis shoes and boots. You should have your parents come take you as early as possible so that you can get dibs on a bunk near the A/C. 

        Well, I am planning on coming to CFA this summer for my LIT year. I am also planning on being an WIT when I am 17 to become an assistant wrangler for CFA because someone has to fill those boots.  I will be returning for the epic summer of 2012. Don't forget to live, laugh, love, and look up!

 — Jen A., San Antonio TX

Here's Jen riding "Indigo," the mustang she refers to in her blog entry. She was the very first student rider to trot on Indigo, and even played a whole day of games on him!