I hope everyone has marked their calendars for our annual spring event camp at Majestic Oaks in Reddick.
Emails before the OPENING DATE will not be counted! $150 covers all from Fri PM through Sun PM
Who Should Attend?
- Riders of all ages who are interested in learning about the sport of eventing or advancing their eventing skills
- Participants must be FHTA members. Dues are $20/year (plus $5/horse) and can be paid along with camp fees. However, priority is given to longer-term members. (so if you have a friend who is also interested, I’d suggest you have them join now).
- No eventing experience required! However, riders should be comfortable jumping small jumps, especially if bringing an inexperienced horse. This is NOT for riders who have NEVER jumped!
- Camp will focus on skills needed for each phase of eventing, with a focus on competitive skills, rules, etiquette, and horsemanship, as well as what to expect at your first event.
What Happens At Camp:
Mounted sessions – Groups of 4-5 rider/horse pairs of similar experience will participate in 3 mounted sessions, each one focusing on one phase of eventing led by experienced instructors. This year we welcome Gaby Ruane (cross country) , Dorothy Crowell (show jumping), Pat Deasy (dressage), and Chris Cox (Green Beans) as our camp instructors.
INSTRUCTOR BIOs
Megan McGee (dressage): Megan McGee successfully competed in Eventing and related disciplines for decades before opening Gaelic Farms Sport Performance Horses in California in 1983. She has been a USEF Licensed Official since 1985, as an Eventing Judge, Eventing and Dressage Technical Delegate, FEI Chief Steward for Dressage, Eventing. Along the way, she obtained a BS degree in Animal Science from Cal Poly and a Masters degree in Sport Management from Lasell University. She served as an NCAA Equestrian Coach for Division I programs for 15 years. Megan received her British Horse Society Instructor’s Certificate after a year of study in Dublin, Ireland. She has served in numerous roles over the years: as Vice-President of Education, Board of Governors, and Area Chair for USEventing, Equestrian Sports Task Force for the NCAA, Youth Sports Council for USEF, and the Scholarship Committee for the California Dressage Society.
Janet Andrews (stadium jumping): With over 40 years of experience teaching dressage and jumping to riders in our area, she is sure to help riders improve stadium jumping skills. She has won numerous eventing awards in Area III, while also riding on the national level. She brought up the 1993 Eventing Mare of the Year, Gaisha, who was also 1994 AHSA Zone 4 Intermediate Champion, and 1995 American Hanoverian Horse of the Year. Janet will share her insights for successfully navigating stadium courses.
Dean Graham (cross country): together with his wife, Megan, they run Avalon Enterprises in O’Brien, FL, where they develop sport horses. Raised in New Zealand where his parents raised warmbloods for dressage and eventing, he relocated to the US, where he competed through Advanced. We are looking forward to have Dean returning to Camp, with his great sense of humor and intuitive understanding of horses.
Chris Cox (green beans – a tiny bit of prior jumping experience, even just a pole!): We are thrilled to welcome back Chris Cox as Green Beans instructor! Chris has evented through the 2* intermediate level, riding with many prominent trainers along the way. Since its inception, she has introduced FHTA Campers to eventing using a progression of safe, fun and interesting exercises. She reminds attendees to read the rulebook, as this is so important to a successful eventing outing! Chris has a knack for successfully and safely starting horses and riders off on their eventing journey.
If there are more than 5 green beans in a year, the other instructor will be announced after all entries are in and participants are selected.
Camp fees are only $150 – this includes stabling, all human food (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and instruction. Camping hookup sites are available for a low fee. Nearby accommodations are also available. (contact Carol Ogden – cogden@atlantic.net – for more information).
Entry information went out 3/18 via email, so check spam if you didn’t get it. Like all events, we have an opening day for entries (April 1st). No pre-entries accepted before opening date. We can only take 20-25 riders in order to give the participants concentrated instruction. Make plans to join us at the beautiful Majestic Oaks for another fun camp!