Getting Ready for Pony Club Camp

School ended Friday. We're getting ready for Pony Club camp, which is in less than two weeks. I don't know what I'm getting myself into but since the materials state "this is not the kind of camp where you drop off your child and leave," I'm staying. And since I'm staying I'm bringing my horse as well as Lily's new horse.

I'm actually excited, especially since we decided to stay in a hotel instead of a stall. Or a tent. I really couldn't be civil if I slept in a stall on a cot for four nights. I'd likely start to crib, weave and take on other vices, especially biting the other campers and chaperones. I'm grumpy enough with sleep.

Lily signed up for tetrathlon shooting practice. She's never shot a gun before and has been wanting to learn. This all sounded fine until....they don't have enough pistols for the campers to use and are calling for campers to try to bring one.

Well, I have a S&W .357 magnum and two other handguns. But I don't think this is what Pony Club permits. Especially when they have middle-aged adult women (read: hormonal) sleeping in stalls. No, we do not need to be armed.

Turns out what they want is an air pistol. This sounded good. I had visions of a $20 BB gun from Wal-Mart. But no! These target air pistols are more in the $400 and up range. Ouch!

I knew that horses were expensive. But that's a lot of money for a gun you can't even use on a crack-crazy intruder or a rabid raccoon unless you really want to piss them off. It's a gun that's not a gun.

And here I was trying to plan ahead on the stuff we needed such as hay, feed, supplements, buckets (Pony Club is big on buckets), more buckets, replacement parts for everything that might break, which is everything, etc. Had to get a new Coggins on the new horse and all the shots up to date. And now I need to find and borrow a gun that doesn't really shoot and costs $400.

I called my good friend whose husband is heavily armed. Of course all of his guns shoot real ammunition. And I've got some other heavily armed friends, but I doubt any of them have arms that aren't lethal. We do have a potato gun that is great fun and was under $5. That might have to do.

I hear the tetrathlon is great fun and it's wonderful that volunteers are willing to come to camp and work with our kids. But I'm constantly amazed at the "one more thing" I need to have. (Nobody is saying that I have to have one -- don't get me wrong. Our Pony Club has nice reasonable people in it -- they're just hoping for some members who can lend us air pistols or moms who haven't already spent all their money on fly sheets.)

Anyway. I'm bringing my camera, and I plan to shoot that.

Comments

[Mrs Mom]

Ya know, Dear Husband has an Airsoft. I'd say email me w/ your shipping addy, but it is in Atlanta w/ his nephew. If it manages to come home soon, I'll zap you and send pix etc.

I wholeheartedly agree about sleeping in a stall! HA~ My version of "camping" is Ramada Inn ;)

[Molly]

Very funny post. You have such a way with words. Weaving and cribbing in humans usually is something else entirely from horses, but middle aged women can do whatever they want. Biting wood and sucking air might be a nice change of pace from a glass of wine.

[White Horse Pilgrim]

I cannot help but think of an imaginary scene where a girl from a background such as the Addams family of the Beverly Hillbillies turns up with a mean shaggy pony and a Colt 45.

Perhaps they also offer horseback archery? The equipment ought to be cheaper than $400. Plus, an intruder is quite likely to flee with an arrow in them. Especially when you fire soundlessly from a shadow.

I hope that you don't crib in the tent. It would be a shame to have to paint the edges of your bed with old engine oil to make you desist!

[greyhorsematters]

I'm sure you'll both have a great time even if you don't locate the gun.
As long as you don't have to sleep in a tent or stall you're already on the winning side.

[gp]

go for it... it's alotta fun!

gp