They got right back in the saddle.
Of course, last year there was a firefighter camp at the dude ranch near Victor where the kids were scheduled to ride. But part of the McKinney Summer Arts and Leadership Camp mind-set is learning how to ride out the bucks.
This was the last week of a six-week adventure for roughly 40 Missoula-area children in fourth through eighth grade. Much of the time has been spent playing games, making art and having fun at their Franklin Elementary School base.
But at least once a week, they've gone off-campus for something more challenging. They've backpacked into the Rattlesnake Wilderness, floated Alberton Gorge, and caught an Osprey baseball game.
The activities are designed to build a sense of self-worth in campers. Missoula's Women's Opportunity and Resource Development has run the program for 14 years.
“We learned to cooperate a lot,” said camper Amanda Nichols, 13. “The counselors make sure you work things out and don't go home mad at anyone.”
Several of the junior staff were campers themselves in past years. Sentinel High School student Tasha Jenkins, 14, said the camp helped her both personally and academically.
“In seventh grade, I didn't have much confidence in myself,” Jenkins said. “A lot of the activities we did help you express yourself and your personality. I've learned how to cope with people better.”
She's also learned how to ride the Mountain Line bus system and to enjoy backpacking in the wilderness. Fellow junior staffer Robert Ervin, 15, said it gave him a chance to enjoy summer stress-free.
“My mom died when I was little,” Ervin said. “That made me grow up a little faster than I might have. Being here reminds me of simpler times. I like to hint around to the kids about what's coming. I won't tell them the full spectrum, but I'll get the deal built up.”
On the final week, the campers bused down to Wildlife Adventures in Victor, where Mike and Debra Caniglia's saddle horses waited. Just being at the foot of the Bitterroot Mountains was bracing. Being on horseback was something more.
“People just want to relate to animals - to bond with them,” Mike Caniglia said of the magic of the saddle. “Kids especially want to have that attachment.”
Camper Kayla Ebert, 12, was making her second try at riding a horse. She'd been bucked off on her first attempt a year before. She was noticeably nervous as Debra Caniglia lengthened the stirrup so she could reach it.
Once in the saddle, Ebert stayed tense until she'd completed one full circle of the ranch's arena.
On the second turn, she turned to Lisbon and gave him a big wave. She was back on the horse.
To watch a video about the camp, click here.
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