Dear Campers, Parents, Aunts, and Friends,
            Our 2021 Girls' Summer Riding Camp season will start with the Week 1 Session, with campers arriving Sunday, June 13, and staying through the following Saturday Noon, June 19. Week 2 will follow, beginning Sunday, June 20 through Saturday Noon June 26, and followed by Week 3, beginning Sunday June 27 through Saturday Noon July 3. As in previous years, campers may attend 1, 2, or all 3 sessions, while there is availability in each one.
            We here at Hill Country Equestrian Lodge are looking forward to providing our campers a wonderful  opportunity to escape into the open space and nature that surrounds us here, and a chance for all of us to share our love of horses, and our desire to learn how to become the best horsewomen we can be.
            This year, we will again be implementing special practices and procedures in order to keep all of us as safe as possible during the Covid-19 crisis. It is important that adults and their campers read and understand these before your arrival, and that both adults and campers agree to abide by them to the best of your abilities while each of you are here. Please rest assured that these practices and procedures will not deter us from giving our campers the same fun and educational camp experience that we have provided in the past!
            Please read the information below, share it with your camper/s:
Before you bring your Campers:

• 24 hours before your arrival, take your campers' temperatures, and make sure that none of them are running a temperature above normal. If one is, please do not bring her to camp. Notify us immediately that she will not be attending. If this is the case, we will issue a full refund of her camp fees.
• Make sure that your camper/s has not been in contact with anyone who has had Covid-19 symptoms*, or who has tested positive for Covid-19 within the 14 day period prior to your camper/s' arrival date. If she has, notify us immediately that she will not be attending. If this is the case, we will issue a full refund of her camp fees.                        

*These symptoms are listed on the CDC website.
 
What to bring with your camper/s:
In addition to the items listed on the "What to Bring" list on Page 4 of the Camp Application, please have your camper bring:

• 2 fabric masks. Campers will NOT be required to wear masks constantly, but will be required to wear them during times when they are in close proximity to one another, such as when feeding, grooming and tacking up their horses in the barn, when an instructor approaches them closely during lessons, and when coming through the buffet line for meals. We will wash one mask each day, while the second mask is being worn.
• 2 identifiable re-useable water bottles. In order to avoid accidental switching of disposable water bottles, campers will be required to bring 2 of their own, fill them each night and put them in the refrigerator, (our tap water is potable), and bring them to their lessons and trail rides the following morning. We will provide additional disposable bottles of water, but will use them only as "back-up" to the campers' own bottles.
• A health insurance card.
• 1 bottle of hand sanitizer for each week your camper will be attending camp.

 
Upon Your Arrival:

• Plan to arrive between 3PM and 6PM. Our welcome wienie roast will be at 7PM.

• Please sanitize your hands before and after opening and closing our front gate. There is a bottle of hand sanitizer hanging on the gate post.
• Check in on the front porch of the office, being mindful to give campers and adults from other parties 6 feet of space, and/ and be prepared to wear a mask, if you come closer than 6 feet to others.
• Proceed to your camper's accommodation. Each camper will have her own bedroom and bathroom. (Only 2 campers within the same immediate family may be asked to share one bathroom.) Please wear your mask as you deliver your camper's belongings to her bedroom, since you  may be passing closely by members of other families. A counselor will be there to greet you and your camper. Campers are welcome to go to the swimming pool once they have delivered their belongings to their rooms. Please don't linger after delivering your camper's belongings to their rooms.

 
When you come to pick up your camper or to see the campers' shows each Saturday morning:

• Please be considerate of campers and adults from other families, allowing 6 feet between yourselves and people from other families, or putting on your masks closer than 6 feet. You are welcome to greet each other and to visit with campers and other adults in the area around the arena. Please do not come inside the barn, and avoid the area between the barn and the round pen and arena, as it will be the pathway for the horses and campers to get to the arena and back to the barn again.

 
While your campers are here:

• Mask wearing: Campers will NOT be required to wear masks constantly, but WILL be required to wear them during times when they are in close proximity to one another, such as when feeding, grooming and tacking up their horses in the barn, when an instructor approaches them closely during lessons, and when coming through the buffet line for meals. Also, when "hanging out", playing cards, or doing other things in close proximity to each other in their cabins. We will wash one mask each day, while the second mask is being worn. Members of the same family who are rooming together will not be required to wear masks when with only each other.
• Hand sanitizing: Campers will be required to sanitize their hands before and after handling any commonly-held objects, such as cards or game pieces, and before and after handling their tack and grooming supplies and tools.
• Hand washing, bathing, and bathroom use. Each camper will have their own bathroom, and will be required to use ONLY THEIR OWN BATH ROOM for hand washing, bathing and using the toilet. Campers and staff will be required to use only their own bathroom to wash hands, immediately before going to the ranch house for meals; just after their morning feeding and before breakfast, just after completing their instructional and trail riding sessions and chores just before lunch, and just before dinner.
• Pool time: Our pool is open as we maintain international standards for pool sanitation, and campers will be allowed to swim during the designated times on the schedule, keeping a 6 foot "cushion" of space around themselves, or wearing masks when  poolside and  nearer than 6 feet to someone outside of their family.
• Cell phones and communicating with your camper/s: Cell phones will be collected when campers arrive, and stored sanitarily at the office. Campers are allowed to use them after lunch, from 1PM to 1:45 PM each day. Your campers are also allowed to use our ground line, (830) 795-7950 to talk to you during this time, or you may call them on this line at that time. Please do not try to communicate with your camper at times outside of this, and do not expect them to communicate with you at other times.
• Meals:  Our first dinner will be a wienie roast in front of Lindig Cabin. We will use  two roasting areas in order to allow for social distancing, and campers will be asked to wear their masks until they are ready to eat. (Buns will be handled only by staff wearing gloves.) We will have adequate picnic table space for each camper to be 6 feet from others while eating. Each camper will have her own utensils, and will be asked to use her own knife or spoon to serve herself condiments, and to take her utensils with her when she goes to her seat to eat. Of course, campers will not be allowed to use their utensils in the condiments after they have used them to eat, but will be given clean utensils to use if they return for "seconds." (We will play a modified version of our famous "never have I ever" ice-breaker game after eating.) All utensils will be placed in a container for washing afterward, and will be handled only be staff wearing gloves when taken to be washed. Plates, cups, and  napkins will be disposed of immediately after use.

            All other meals will be served at our ranch house. Campers will return to each of their own bathrooms to wash their hands immediately before meals. They will sanitize their hands just before going through the buffet line, and will wear masks, and give one another 6 feet of space as they come through a buffet line to be served by staff. Condiments and other self-serve items will be treated as described in the above paragraph. Campers will be seated outside, in the shade, at picnic tables, with 6 feet between family groups while eating. If weather does not permit this, we will serve the buffet from the ranch house kitchen, and use the front porch and dining room of the ranch house for meal seating with social distancing.
When non-disposable dishes and utensils are used, containers will be provided outside or on the porch for the campers to put their used articles in after eating. Only staff wearing gloves and masks will handle soiled dishes and utensils other than their own.
When disposable plates and other disposable eating articles are used, containers will be provided for campers to place them in. Social distancing will be practiced during this process.
           
We were able to have a fun, safe, and successful camp in 2020 while following these measures. We want to reassure you that we will provide your campers a wonderful experience again in 2021, while still keeping them safe.
            As the time for camp gets closer, I will communicate with you if there are any changes to these measures. In the meantime, feel free to contact me, should you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Dianne Lindig Lovett,
Owner and Camp Director, Hill Country Equestrian Lodge
info@hillcountryequestlodge.comPhone (830) 796-7950