1960’s

Falls From Horses–

Published on by Kathy Baker

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Other riders were not so brave. Brooke Sauve (1949-51) would rather have been on a horse than swim. Her parents purchased her first horse when she was four, but she fell and broke her arm. Then the fear set in, so they sold the horse. When she was twelve they bought her another one. “The horses at Maqua were very calm, but I was still afraid and I still am today,” said Brooke.

Coleen Gasta loved the outdoors and also liked the horseback riding in the early sixties, but she had a hard time controlling her horse. “I was too intimidated. I remember my instructor yelling YOU CAN MAKE IT DO ANYTHING YOU WANT! “ (She eventually got into horses later and ended up renting one.)

The “Loon” in 1953 had a “Bulletin” on August 14. “One horse plus one canter equals one broken arm. (Name is Marsha and she’s slowly mending,)” read the piece about instructor Marsha Immerman, who never gave up her love for horses.

During the same time period, her cousin Audrey Graff and friend Molly Olson, recalled the steep embankment on the camp property that was an adventure to ride. It was far from the corral. The three girls loved to ride, but Audrey always had a degree of fear and was not as comfortable with riding as her friends. One day their friend Sherrie Susskind lost her footing in the stirrup and was dragged by the horse, had teeth kicked out and had to have plastic surgery later.

Marcia Sherman, who was also a friend of Marsha Immerman, took riding lessons when she was old enough. “I wasn’t a very big kid, but remember how huge I felt the animal to be in relation to me. One day it threw me and I was knocked out or stunned for a few minutes. The counselor wisely told me to get back on the horse, which I did and made it back to the stable. I may have riddet a few more times that summer, but never became fond of riding as Marsha did.”

Although not a seasoned rider, Amy Falk (1971-74) enjoyed riding. If a horse acted up, she was instructed to get off, but she only remembered doing a dive from a horse that acted up! Pamela Hartz (1966-75) had never been on a horse until camp. “I’m not sure if I was adventurous, but after falling from the horse there, I never wanted to go back on. I didn’t mind being around them, and I liked to groom them, I just didn’t want to ride them.”

Michele Patterson (1971-76) had one event, involving horseback riding, stand out in her mind. She fell off a white horse on an overnight trip. The horse spooked on the trail and she slid backwards off the horse named Champagne. “I was scared to death and I knew you were supposed to get back on the horse, but I just couldn’t. I have spent time with horses in my life, just walking them, but I have never been back on.”

Did you ever fall from your horse at camp? Were you injured?

 

Kicks, Bites, and Fears–

Published on by Kathy Baker

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There were a few girls who would have loved to ride, but could not afford the lessons. They admitted they were envious and some of them made room in their lives to learn years after camp. Others had the opportunity and experienced some accidents and incidents that changed their minds about ever wanting to ride again.

“I hated horses,”said Phoebe Atha (1947-48). “In fact, I remember my sister riding “Gypsy” at camp. I had a camera that I bought. My sister loved horses and I didn’t. I did not want any part of those big animals, but I took a photo of her on the horse. Well, she was so mad. When the photos came back, I had only half the horse in the photo.”

Her sentiments about riding and being around horses were shared by many—some who tried and some, like Liz Anderson (1973-74), who wanted to ride, but “the horses were so big and mean and they tried to eat my shoes and scared the heck out of me, so when I started crying, they let me take arts and crafts instead.”

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Girls Unafraid–

Published on by Kathy Baker

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Many of the girls had previous experience riding, and came to camp with some confidence and skills. A self-professed horse crazy girl, Kathleen Clements, lived near the Saginaw riding stable, and had ample opportunity to ride, but still loved riding at camp in the early sixties. “I had a niece and an aunt who were in the same class at school and they had the Lear’s Stable, where we rode bareback.”

Two early campers, MaryJo Stegall (1933-41) and Judy MacNicols (1946) also had experienced riding before camp. Judy practiced at a local stable with no formal lessons and MaryJo learned from a wealthy family in Davison, who allowed her to ride and exercise their horses.

Bonnie Schlatter, had a pony on her farm, as well as pigs, chickens and sheep, so she was unafraid of riding when she went to camp in 1976. Jane Miller’s aunt and uncle lived in Tawas and had a lake house and a farm. Jane (1969-72) had her own horse on that farm, where she first learned to ride.

The Kessler sisters discovered Camp Maqua, in the forties, through Marsha Immerman, who was Judy’s good friend and horseback riding buddy. Sister Bonnie liked horseback riding until a bee stung her horse, which caused her not only to be thrown by the horse, but stung by the same bee on the ankle!

“I still own a horse now and both my daughters had horses growing up. Marsha, Judy and I used to meet each other to ride in Bay City State Park, and we took care of horses for other people by exercising them,” said Barb Hale (1950), who had lessons at camp a few times a week on tame horses in addition to her stable time before camp.

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Giddy-Up!

Published on by Kathy Baker

23505_115400608486953_6223099_nPenny Mitchell’s (1951-54) favorite thing to do was ride the horses at camp. It was something that she could do that she hadn’t done before. “I loved horses and camp was my conduit to horseback riding. I never fell off and we even rode bareback, which was very exciting. I can remember riding past the raspberry and thimbleberry bushes and picking them. I asked one day if I could go pick and the counselor said only if I brought enough back for the whole breakfast table to put on their cereal. So, I took one other girl and we picked raspberries for everyone!”

Many girls like Penny learned at camp for the first time, including Debbie Robson, who said Sarah Dufendach, (her riding instructor in the early seventies), was the only one who would let the girls run the horse into a full gallop. “It was an awesome feeling to be running on a horse,” she said.

For Carla Wilhelm (1945-49), if a class was offered, she took it. “I loved horseback riding and all the side trips we took. I remember one year we used long-eared mules for a while. We would saddle them up like horses. And another year we had to ride those darn English saddles, which were narrow with a slit and no horns. Jackie Valley was our instructor.”

“I had one particularly ornery horse that scared me,” said Randi Wynne-Parry (1969-73), who learned to ride at camp. “He always got me too close to the branches. I think they used trail horses and they just wanted to get back to the stable. Being a new rider, I was always apprehensive and nervous on that one horse.”

Kellie Moore (1970-77) loved the riding, even though it was a totally new experience for her. She took it year after year, saying, “It was pretty much a walk in the woods every time, and not much in the arena, but one year a couple of instructors started teaching us to jump. It was more like jumping over a log,” she laughed.

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For The Love of Horses–

Published on by Kathy Baker

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Dorothea Kelton loved horseback riding when she attended camp in 1940 and remembered she had to pay extra for the lessons. She had been on horses around town, but not like her experience at camp. “We would tie a towel around the end of the bunk bed if we were riding, and the counselors would wake us up early. I still remember the instructor—Nadine Bell.”

The riding was the main attraction for Kathy Sullivan (1961), who raised enough money babysitting so she could take the lessons at camp. She spent time with horses near her home, but just as Dorothea said, it was not the same as camp. The girls could ride days in a row.

Mardi Jo Link (1973-78) would save her babysitting money all year, so she could have the riding lessons at camp. “My bunk was the furthest from the stables and I can still see myself laying on the bunk during rest time, waiting for the bell to ring. I would have my riding boots on while I rested. I would race to get my favorite horse “Champagne”. That horse was like a horse out of the movies with its light colored eyes and coat. Now when I look back at the photos, it was not a horse out of the movies, but the saddest and ugliest pony,” she laughed. “But, it was a fairy tale horse to me back then.”

The horses that Shirley rode were very calm and she never fell. She always made sure she did go too far out or she would have to fight them to go farther.“It made it even more special that I had saved the money,” said Shirley Colbert (1941). “It was my parent’s way of telling me that everything doesn’t come easy.”

Anne Duffield (1947-50) was supposed to earn the extra money to pay for the lessons at camp, but never got around to it. “When it came time to ride, my name was on the list, so I took the lessons. When I got back home, my Mom made me sell my bkie to pay and as I recall, I didn’t care! I know later in life when we took our kids to a ranch in Colorado, they were surprised to see I could ride.”

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Hiding With The Horses–

Published on by Kathy Baker

 

“It was a transformational experience at camp because of the animals, “ said Nancy Weber (1962). “ I was a girl born in the fifties in the city and I should have been a forties girl born in the country. I was just ripe for Camp Maqua. It was the first time that I rode a horse and it changed my life. That began a life long love affair. My Dad bought me a horse in the ninth grade and I had one until 1990, but my daughter was the one who had the talent for horses. I was very tight with Ollie and Mel and would visit them all the way through college and beyond—-that is how much they influenced me. Horses made me poor for the rest of my life,” she laughed. “Ollie and Mel were very dear to me and were models.”

“Honestly, I could not spend enough time with those horses. I had extra lessons for horseback riding at camp. I wanted triple sessions, but had to settle for double, but I would beg to go to those horses on my free time. I remember we could go for a swim during our free time, and somehow I figured out how to leave for the free swim, go back to the barn and get back to the lake. I made the mistake of forgetting to turn in my buddy tag, and they were practically dragging the lake for me,” said Nancy.

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