Lots of pony fun for kids at Kalbrase Farm

 

Kalbrase Farm is a family-owned farm near Whitecourt just beyond the airport off Highway 32. Along with countless animals including horses, pigs, chickens, bunnies, and ponies, Taunya Gabelhei and her family live, work, and play the farm life. This year Taunya and her friend Wendy Gaulton decided to try their hands at offering a camp for local children, so they could be hands-on at the farm and learn about the animals. The pair held their first Pony Play Day Camp back in July which was a four-day camp broken up into two different groups: five to eight and nine to 12. “They groomed, played with, and rode the ponies. We also went for hikes with the ponies in the back on crown land which was a lot of fun,” explained Taunya.

 

After having such a great turnout and seeing how much the children enjoyed themselves, they decided to offer two more camps and are thinking about adding in a couple more before the end of the month. Taunya and Wendy had an obstacle course set up in the pony pen that featured ground poles, a small bridge, barrels, and a jump. The children kept taking turns going around and around the course leading the ponies one by one.

 

“The biggest thing is they get to learn about the horses. They leave here with so much information they don’t even know they have. In the beginning, they didn’t know the answers, and by the end, they can answer every question.” The groups learned how to brush the ponies, braid their tails, and even made them colourful by painting them. Along with that they also had fun doing all kinds of crafts including painting rocks for Tick Tack Toe. “We’ve done horse hooves and handprint art with their favourite ponies, too,” said Taunya.

 

On rainy Thursday, August 2 during the final day of the third camp, the children barely noticed the drizzling as they practiced the obstacle course together. Taunya said she and Wendy have immensely enjoyed the experience and are so happy that the kids have had so much fun. “We love this and so do the kids. We already have kids signed up for next summer. Some of the kids even took part in both week camps and now they are here for the two days because they can’t get enough. We are definitely going to make this an annual thing; it’s so much fun!”

 

They have plans to continue holding camps into August and are contemplating also having one-day camps during some school-free days if the weather still permits them to do so in September and October. “We had one girl here who didn’t talk to anybody at school and didn’t have any friends, and by the time she left the camp she was going to four birthday parties and she was obsessed with two of the ponies,” smiled Taunya. “She has already phoned us to say that she wants to come back.”

 

Wendy said getting to see the kids evolve from being scared or shy has been amazing. “I’ve loved watching how far they’ve come. So many of them have come out of their shells and wouldn’t even speak at the beginning. They are now out and about talking, participating, and having fun. I also liked seeing how comfortable the kids got with the animals.”

 

To learn more about the camps that will be held soon follow the Facebook page Kalbrase Farm.