Camper Information
The 4-H Therapeutic Adventure Camp of Orange is a therapeutic riding camp for special needs children residing in Orange County ranging from ages 9 to 19 years old.
On Monday, campers will be assigned to groups with approximately 5 campers per group, they will remain in these groups for the entirety of the week. Each group will also have a group leader. The group leader will assist the campers with transitioning from each station and maintaining order within the group. The group leader will also help distribute snack at the end of each day, and is someone your child can come and talk to if they have any questions throughout the day. All of our group leaders are 16 years and older, and are highly experienced in camp settings.
During the riding portion of TACO, each camper is assigned to a horse they will ride throughout the week, they are also assigned with two side-walkers and a horse leader. Pending any changes, your child will ride the same horse daily and will work with the same horse leader and side-walkers each day.Each camper will be fitted with a safety belt and helmet. The safety belt is used for the side-walkers to hold onto and support the camper, they place one hand in the belt on the campers back and their other hand on the camper's knee or ankle for extra support. *New paragaph*
*pic with side walker here*
If your child requires extra support (such as those with Cerebral Palsy), we can also provide that by the use of a "back rider." The camper is still fitted with a belt and helmet, a horse leader and 2 side-walkers, in addition to this they have a highly experienced rider placed behind them. This "back rider" provides extra support for the camper by placing their arms under the camper's arms and holding them upright. They also provide extra support by allowing the camper to lean back against them. This method is only used in circumstances where the camper is unable to hold themselves up right and needs extra support.
*pick with me here*
If you chose to bring your child to summer camp, please arrive no earlier than 15 minutes prior to the start of camp, and arrive by noon to pick your child up. If your child needs transportation to and from camp, please ensure they are ready when the bus or van arrives. We will notify you of an approximate time to expect the transportation once we receive all of the applications.
We ask due to safety that your child wear closed toe and closed back shoes as they will be interacting with horses on the ground as well as riding. Failure to wear closed toe and close backed shoes will result in your child not being able to participate in the horse activities that day.