Just Horsin' Around Horse Camp

My son was SOOO excited to attend. This was just such a horrible experience. He had no prior knowledge of horses and a teenager was telling him to grab a saddle and get his own horse ready with NO instruction or adult supervision. He ended up petrified of horses and did not want to return. The day was spent mostly just running around the ranch without any actual program. This place is dangerous. Do not send your kids!

We've been sending our 11year old to camp since he was 7 and we love it. He gets tons of hands on experience and is entrusted with leading trail rides and coming up with patterns in the ring. This camp is great for kids who have self discipline and enjoy hands on learning. Our kiddo has enjoyed many life lessons in additions to the basics of horse care and riding. It is a little rough around the edges, it's not fancy, and there is minimal supervision in some instances. And I'm glad for that, I think our kiddo benefits from the independence. I love that the camp schedules around the Vail School District calendar. Any issues we've had have been handled expediently and with care. Our son truly loves his time on the ranch.

This summer camp is awesome. I went there for years as a kid and loved it. It's not a prissy ~~horse camp~~ so go elsewhere if that's what you're looking for. This camp teaches kids so much, and allows for both personal and equestrian development and growth. Candace and Rick know horses and have been in the horse business their whole lives. They care for them empathetically through health and sickness. In the years I was there I felt accepted as almost an extension of their family. Yes, sometimes it's hot, or you have to walk between the corals (a 40 second walk) alone, but there's no danger, and it allows kids a chance to develop through new experiences and extremely minor adversity (stuff shouldn't always go your way because you want it to). Send your kid to this camp if you want them to come out a better person.

Terrible experience. No structure. Dirty van busted windows. The Children there were disrespectful and used bad language.

My son Ezra attended camp for the second week of his fall break. My son could not wait to go to "horse camp" and they did not disappoint! When I picked him up from his first day he was sunburnt, BUT he knew he was supposed to reapply at lunch and they are reminded by staff to apply sunscreen. If your child isn't capable of applying sunscreen to their own bodies, I don't suggest you send them to an outdoor camp in Tucson during the summer months. After the first day, he remembered to re-apply his sunscreen and it was not an issue again. The owners aren't so much "quirky" as they are very country, to me anyways, whatever that means... I found Candace to be friendly and down to earth. I corresponded with her through e-mail before signing my son up and she was more than happy to answer all of my questions. Rick is more reserved and quiet but was polite when I spoke to him. My son really liked Rick. I should add that my sons energy level (from 1-10) is always at a 10. He doesn't tire easily and generally stays at a 10 all.day.long. When he came home from just horsin around, he parked himself on the couch and fell asleep early each day! What ever they are doing out there, keep doing it! I am very pleased with this camp and will definitely sign my son up for more camps! I asked Rick if they offer adult riding camps and he said they have a three day camp over the holidays for families. What fun!! Thanks for taking care of my son for the week and keeping him busy and entertained :)

My child was very excited to be going to this camp. She is now not a happy about the camp and she will not be completing the camp. Just so you know the transportation van is junk. The kids have no A/C, the doors come open while driving, no window that open on the front windows, and it is barley holding together. My child would get out of the van so hot! Mr. Rick left my child in the van alone to go into a store, this is not something my child is used to. As far as the camp there is not much supervision at all. My child was yelled at for things that she had no idea about, she has never worked with horses. Also at times the children are made to stand in full sun and hold the horses, told they can not wait in the shade.! My child told me that Mr. Rick yells at them, she also said that Mr. Rick hits and kicks the horses. Hope this helps future campers.

These horses need help!!! They told my daughter she couldn't refill her water bottle!! They told her it was because the children played with water too much. This is Arizona!! Do not send your children!! My mother showed up in middle of the day and the kids were unsupervised. My daughter ended up getting heat stroke. This place and the owners need major help!!!

I went there when I was a kid and now looking back it was a really bad place. All over the place it was very dirty and gross. Nothing looked like it was never clean. The adults were not very nice and they didn't give instructions. They were also very rude to the horses and didn't treat that nice

My son and his friend just went to this horse camp recently and they love it! They both would like to return again for another fun time. They learned to feed horses, groom them and how to take care of them. He said he was tired from doing all the hard work that is required to take care of horses on daily basis. It is a good learning experience for him to understand how much work is involved to take care of animals or pet similar to how much time and effort a parent is taking care of a child. His most favorite part of the camp is trail ride. They have two trail rides, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The more experienced group go on a longer ride than the beginning group. I like that they operate in small groups so the kids can receive more help and attention. It is safer to be in small group regardless of experience so the guide can take control of the situation easier and sooner if something happens. The groups are divided based on experience so the instruction and activity are appropriate for their level. My son can't wait to return the camp again!

There are many horse camps to choose from in the Tucson area. Just Horsin Around is a good price. Unfortunately, children have little structure and are in direct contact with unsupervised teenager volunteers. My ten year old was bullied, made fun of, and called obscene names by these teenagers. The owner has an unusual sense of humor that children may not appreciate. I think that older children and children with previous horse experience will be okay. This is not the appropriate camp for younger children or children sensitive to expressive adult language use and new to large animal management.