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 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!
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!
