The German horsemanship camps were great preparation for the European Championship.

We just finished the second of two International Horsemanship camps in Kreuth, Germany, this year. The first was July 25-28, and the second took place August 1-4. The camp participants ranged in age from 8 to 65, with all levels of riding skills. We had a wide variety of horse breeds between the two camps. In the first camp, we had several Haflinger horses, as well as an Andalusian horse. In the second camp, we again had a Haflinger, but also a Shire and a Creole.

Both camps were divided into two groups. Each group rode two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. Each group was usually divided further during the riding session, enabling the participants to receive more one-on-one instruction.

Both camps were conducted in the same format, with the first day consisting of the basics, such as following the nose, hip and shoulder control, and collection. The second day focused mainly on guiding exercises for reining and horsemanship, as well as transitional exercises. On the third day, instead of working in groups as had been done previously, we worked on specific things, such as reining, horsemanship, trail and western pleasure. We also incorporated a bits and bitting talk into the camp during the riding sessions and set aside an hour in the afternoon on the third day for an equine nutrition talk.

On the fourth day of both camps, we held a mock show for the participants. At the first camp, we offered western pleasure, reining, horsemanship and trail. For the second camp, we offered showmanship, western pleasure, reining, horsemanship and trail.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the show and was grateful for the extra practice before the European Championship of American Quarter Horses coming up later this month.

The Texas Tech team enjoyed the camp immensely and is thankful to those who organized the camps and took the time to show us around the area when we had free days between the camps. It has been a wonderful experience, and I am sure we will all hold it in our fondest memories.

We are now in Vienna, Austria, preparing for the final camp of the summer, August 7-10 at the Long View Ranch just outside of Vienna in a small town called Wilhelmsburg.

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Alicia Daugherty
AQHA international intern