We had nine scouts spending the weekend and earning their Horsmanship Merit Badge at the Rolling Stone Ranch in Bethel, NY. Appropriate that a ranch uses a musical theme for its name in the town Woodstock was held but it is somewhat odd they chose a band that didn't play that weekend. Anyway one of everyone's favorite horses this weekend was Jagger. Unfortunately Bianca was in a different barn and we didn't get to meet her.
The scouts learned a lot about horses and spent time working on their riding skills, but probably everyone's favorite activity was mucking out the horse stalls. Well maybe not the Scouts favorite but the staff's favorite, because when Boy Scouts come for their Merit Badge the Scouts do the daily chores the staff usually has to do. Next time your scout complains about cleanning his room remind him it's a much easier job that shoveling horse sh*t.
To break up the day with a little fun our Merit Badge instructor held a Troop horse race which we managed to capture on video.
Scout horse race from Trip Balch on Vimeo.
Back at the cabin dinner was prepared and lots of board games played. The classics (Chess/Monopoly) as well as the new classics (Settelrs/Ticket to Ride) were played several times.
For a complete photo record of the weekend check out the Troop photo album here:
