Pastor uses 'what we got' to start camp
Three years ago, the Rev. Robert Slade issued a challenge to the members of Mount Zion UMC in Georgetown. In a sermon titled “Use What You Got,” he preached that everyone should use their gifts and resources to glorify God.
“I didn’t know we had a few cowboys in the congregation that morning,” Slade said. “After my sermon, they walked up to me and said that I need to use what I have, my farm, to provide some sort of activity during the summer for our kids.”
A horseback rider since he was a child, Slade decided to start an equestrian camp.
“I had horses and I wasn’t using them for anything,” he said. “It was an opportunity to teach our kids something that they otherwise would not have learned.”
What started as a modest beginning three years ago, has now swelled to a camp that has reached its camper capacity.
The camp hosts 35 boys and girls from the greater Washington, D.C., area and beyond. They stay overnight for a week at the farm and take lessons depending on their skill level. Some have attended the camp for all three years.
“The first year I came I saw the horses and I said there was no way that I was getting on a horse,” said Derek Tomkins, 15, from Upper Marlboro. “But as soon as I gave it a try, I got used to it and really liked it.”
Tomkins is part of the advanced learning group, where the instruction is more demanding than the others. And the instructors are quick to point out that this camp is to learn to properly ride and care for a horse. It’s not, they said, a babysitting camp.
“It’s unbelievable to see how much a new camper progresses from the first day to the last day,” said Wilbert Keaton, an instructor. “By the end of the week, it looks like they’ve been riding forever. Some cry when they get here because they’re afraid. But once they take one spin around, they fall in love with it.
“You see the attitudes of some of the teenagers change as well. Some of them arrive with their pants by their hips. But by the end of the week, their pants are up, their belt is buckled, and they begin to mature.
“Some of these kids have a small discipline problem. But a 1,200 pound horse doesn’t care if they have discipline problems or not,” Slade said. “So they are forced to be disciplined if they want to learn. They know that they have to be alert. They have to think. They begin to communicate with the horse.”
A typical day begins with a morning devotion and prayer. The campers takes horse riding lessons until 12:30 p.m., break for lunch, and then enjoy an afternoon activity like fishing, roller blading or swimming. After dinner, the campers play games and watch movies. Bed time is at 10 p.m. and 10-year-old Daleah Deveaux says that few people complain.
“You’re so tired at the end of the day,” said Deveaux, a resident of Cornelius, N.C., who makes an annual trip to Upper Marlboro for the equestrian camp. “It’s not as easy as it looks and the teachers really stay on top of you. You don’t just stand around. There’s always something to learn. I think this is something that I’ll always do.”
Slade and his church offset some of the costs of the camp, allowing it to stay affordable for the campers and their families.
“This is a ministry for a lot of people here,” Slade said. “Some of the instructors bring their own horses for the kids to ride. We also have people preparing meals, taking the kids on field trips and staying with them overnight. Just like the sermon said, we’re using what we got.”
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