This year the campers' decorated quilting squares a craft project during camp. The Orange County Piecemakers turned their decorated quilting squares into a beautiful wall-hanging quilt for us to auction at the Orange County Fair Auction.

All proceeds made from the quilt go directly to TACO. We'd like to extend a huge THANK YOU to Battlefields Farm Inc. for purchasing the quilt at the auction for $550 and also to the Orange County Piecemakers for putting the quilt together!

This year TACO broadened our horizons and decided to give each camper and horse owner a gift bag. This would not have been possible with out our numerous donors!

We would like to thank the following businesses and individuals for their donations to TACO this year.

• BBQ Exchange
• Burger King of Orange
• Cindy Colvin Massage Therapist
• Charlene Funkhouser
• Copy Stop
• Co. 5 Creations- Sarah Flint
• Country Cookin’
• Crawford’s Saddlery
• Dover Saddlery 
• El Monaca
• El Vaquero
• Elmwood at Sparks
• Equine Monthly Magazine
• Garden Gate Florist
• Gibson’s Rental
• Great Wall
• Hardee's of Orange
• Hornet’s Nest
• J and B Market
• JMB Electrical Solutions LLC
• Mario’s
• McDonald's of Orange
• Melrose Antiques and Decorative Arts
• Orange Movie Rental
• Real Food
• Sheetz of Orange
• Tastee Freeze of Gordonsville

As always, camp would not be possible with out the generous churches who donate snacks for us each day. This year we'd like to thank the following churches for providing us with snacks each day:

• Orange Baptist Church
• Orange Presbyterian Church
• Rapidan Emmanuel Episcopal Church
• St Isidore Catholic Church
• Mitchell's Presbyterian Church
• Christ Anglican Church
• Orange St Thomas Episcopal Church
• Grace Community Church
  

This year TACO decided to give each camper a gift bag to take home with them after camp. We also presented each horse owner with a gift bag thanking them for their service for the week.

The campers received cotton canvas backpacks with their names embroidered on them, courtesy of Co. 5 Creations, Sarah Flint. In each bag the campers received coupons from Hardee's, McDonald's, Tastee Freeze, J and B Market, Sheetz, and Burger King. The campers also received a horse activity book that the TACO Committee designed and was graciously printed by Copy Stop at a discounted price. With the monetary donations received TACO was able to purchase a water bottle, crayons, colored pencils, bubbles, side-walk chalk, a horse book, mini Frisbee, 4-H wrist band, 4-H pencil, along with a 4x6 photo from camp for all of the campers.

The horse owners received canvas tote bags with their names embroidered on them, courtesy of Charlene Funkhouser. Each horse owner received a lead rope, hoof pick, and $10 gift certificate all donated by Crawford Saddlery. They also received a horse related item from Dover Saddlery ranging from saddle pads, to baseball caps and tack cleaning supplies. The horse owners all received a gift certificate from various restaurants for a dinner for two, the gift certificates were donated by El Vaquero, El Monaca, The Hornet's Nest, Elmwood at Sparks, The BBQ Exchange, Real Food, and Marios. In addition to a meal for two each horse owner also received a coupon for a meal for one from one of the following restaurants; Great Wall, County Cookin', Real Food, and Mario's. The bags also included coupons from Hardee's, McDonald's, Burger King, Sheetz, Tastee Freeze and The Garden Gate Florist. Each bag also contained numerous horse magazines collected from various tack and feed stores.

With the monetary donations received TACO was able to purchase a bag of treats and container, a horse novel and horse reference book, a horse shaped key ring, a 4-H pen, 4-H can holder, and also an insulated drinking cup for each horse owner.

We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to the businesses and individuals who made these gift bags possible with their generous donations.

Here is the link to the Orange County Review article. If you pick up the paper this week there is a FULL color page about TACO!

http://www2.orangenews.com/lifestyles/2012/jul/25/campers-enjoy-horsing-around-ar-2083568/?referer=None&shorturl=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FMWJND5 

Triple Crown and Southern States offers a reward program for organizations like TACO.

If you feed Triple Crown feeds or Southern States brand feeds please save the Proof of Purchase labels off of your bags for us! You can either drop them off at the extension office or mail them to us. All proceeds from these POP will go directly to TACO.

You can find more information about this program at http://www.rvhr.com/wordpress/fundraisers/southern-states-pop-program/

We have 3 large shirts and 5 XL shirts left over from camp. They are $15 a piece and all proceeds go directly to TACO.

If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, please email me at 4htaco@gmail.com.

The front of the shirt has the smaller image (TACO's logo on it) the back of the shirt has the larger design! This is also the color of the shirt.

TACO Parents, please take the following survey to help us improve camp for everyone next year. The committee will review the results and take your suggestions into consideration!

The survey can be found at:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHkydE5UeGVobHl6OUxhQTVNY3VyY3c6MQ#gid=0

TACO Volunteers, please take the following survey to help us improve camp for everyone next year. The committee will review the results and take your suggestions into consideration!

The survey can be found at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEFxaG1LVXB3T2N0dlB3UW5sV0t3Y2c6MQ#gid=0

Stephanie's Hero segment will be airing on CBS 19 tonight at 5pm, for those who missed it this morning (like myself!). You can also view the video once it is posted online!

CBS has posted the link to the article, still waiting on the video. The article link is below:
http://www.newsplex.com/features/heroes/headlines/Stephanies-Heroes-Therapeutic-Adventure-Camp--163422376.html

http://www.newsplex.com/heroes 

Well our morning started off quite rainy, but cooler!!

We had a fantastic turn out for the horse show including parents, teachers and school board office employees! 

Due to the rain we had to move our carnival inside but the campers got to enjoy the pizza party, snow cone machine and also the carnival after the horse show was over!

I have listed the awards from the horse show below:

 JOHN- HORSE TRAINER AWARD
          John has ridden almost all of the camp ponies this week and done a terrific job with each one. He gets the trainer award because he can ride anything!

 

ASHLEY- EQUITATION AWARD

          Ashley gets the Equitation award because she has become such a beautiful rider over the years, that she could win any class judged on her riding position!

 

JASON- THE POSTING TROT AWARD

          Jason has gone from being the ultimate cowboy, to being a true jockey because he has mastered the posting trot this year!

 

JEREMY- THE SHOWMANSHIP TRAINER AWARD

          Jeremy has learned how to make Savvy walk, halt and trot on command this week. He could take him through a showmanship pattern anywhere and succeed!

 

LACEY- THE BRAVEHEART AWARD

          Lacey was very timid about riding at the beginning of the week, and overcame that to become a terrific rider! She is even trotting now!

 

SYDNEY- THE BRAVEHEART AWARD

          Sydney was very timid about riding when she started camp as well. She was happy to ride, but didn’t want to trot. She overcame her fears yesterday and finally trotted for the first time! There’s no stopping her now!!

 

SANDRA- THE SPIT FIRE AWARD

          Sandra has kept all of us hopping this week. She keeps everyone entertained and tries really hard with her riding!

 

KANE- THE “READY TO GO” AWARD

          Kane has been very eager to ride this year. He looks forward to his time riding Penny and Dawn, and tries really hard to complete all of his challenges every day.

 

CJ- THE MOST THOUGHTFUL AWARD

          CJ focuses and thinks deeply about each and every project he is given. He makes sure he does everything to the best of his ability and is always thorough in his tasks!

 

NATHAN- THE MOST EAGER TO PLEASE AWARD

          Nathan has always tried very hard to do each task as well as he possibly can. He has never had a problem completing any challenge that has been set in front of him- whether it’s steering, trotting, or jumping!!

 

JESSICA- THE MOST ADVENTUROUS AWARD

          Jessica, like Nathan and CJ, has never had any problem trying to complete tasks. She is always happy to try new things, and always with a smile on her face! I could see her climbing a mountain if she decided to do so!

 

CHRISTOPHER- THE MOST IMPROVED AWARD

          Christopher is our most improved rider this year. When he first came to camp a few years ago, he didn’t even want to get on the horse. Now he is riding one of the biggest horses out there, and trotting around with the best of them! Nothing can hold him back now!

 

ALYSSA- THE MOST ATTENTIVE AWARD

          Alyssa is a very focused rider. She doesn’t let anything distract her from the job at hand. She thinks through her challenges and always completes them 100%!

 

SHAUN- THE “GO GET ‘EM” AWARD

          Shaun shows up to camp early every day, and is always absolutely ready to start his camp day! He gives 110% everyday, and always with a smile on his face!

 

KLAIRE- THE EQUESTRIENNE AWARD

          Klaire is a born equestrian. She has a natural balance and a quiet disposition that is so peaceful for the horses. It doesn’t matter if she is riding Western or English, on a big horse or a little….. she gets the job done beautifully!