Meet the Herd!

We’re Not Just Horsing Around

Freckles is a 15 year old Quarter/thoroughbred cross. Trotting down from Sacramento California, she is trained in therapeutic riding lessons to both children and adults. She is a kind soul who makes friends easily (with both horses and kids!) But most of all, Freckles is thrilled to be reunited with her adopted brother, Stretch. We hope that the campers will love her as much as she will love them.

Stretch is a mustang/draft cross who comes to us from Sacramento, Ca. He is a veteran when it comes to therapeutic riding and working with children with special needs. Before coming to camp, Stretch participated in the High Hurdles program for three years.  He is 27 years old but loves to convince us that he is 100 with his slow pace and easy going temperament. Stretch is an all around good old guy. We are excited to welcome him to camp and hope that he will become a favorite among our campers.

Luna is a 21 year old quarter horse who came to camp in May of 2014. Prior to camp she spent her days competing in barrel racing and gymkhana events. She has since been a favorite among the wranglers and the campers alike. She is sweet in nature, curious as a cat and loves to be loved on by all who will shower her with attention. Luna was generously donated to camp by Jamie Witty.

Butterscotch is a 15 year old quarter/pony cross horse that comes to us from Antelope Acres. She has been a birthday party pony, show and drill team pony in her past. She is energetic, kind and loves to be petted.

Franny is a  21 year old Percheron horse who came to The Painted Turtle along with her sister Lucy. Before coming to Camp she lived as a wagon horse in Coachella Valley. Thanks to Alexander and Betty Haagen and the Empire Polo Club, we not only received this beautiful horse, but we also received the wagon she pulls!  This year Franny will be retiring from the wagon and moving on to our riding program. We hope that our campers enjoy working more closely with Franny in the new year.

Skippy is a 26-year-old Tennessee Walking horse and is on lease to The Painted Turtle from San Diego, CA. He is an experienced trial horse and spent many years on the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Mounted Posse patrol team. He has years of experience with clinics and obstacles of all kinds. His breed as a Tennessee Walker is unique to our program as, at any gait, a rider will stay in the saddle verses the bounce you would feel with other breeds. We hope that he will have a long career with us here at Camp and give the campers a unique experience.

Becka is an 18 year old Quarter Horse who has previous trail, obstacle course experience with her Owner. She is currently on lease with The Painted Turtle and has recently joined our program as of May 2017. She has adjusted well to our herd and enjoys the trail rides with campers but has also shown to be very calm and easy going for our adaptive riding program with campers as well. She loves to steal the other horses food when she can convince them to move their feeders close to her stall and finds it hilarious to share a meal with another horse. She seems to fit into our program very well and we hope the campers enjoy working with her for many years to come.

Beamer, 24, is new to our program and joined us in the Summer of 2018. He is brother to our mini pony Carlitos and our goat, Stevie as they all came from the same home. He is an avid trail horse, a smooth mover and is new to the idea of working with kids but so far has been a rising star for years in our program with both staff and campers. We are looking forward to Beamer being a shining star with campers for years to come.

Grace, 12, comes to the Painted Turtle and new this 2018 Fall Family weekend season from another Therapeutic program in Ojai, California. We are still discovering all the wonderful things about Grace such as she loves to play soccer and paint her own pictures. She is sister to Lilac. They are both HMA mustangs. A new addition to our program will be learning how to read their brands and know their age and where they come from.

Lilac, 9, is new to The Painted Turtle this Fall Family weekend season of 2018 and is sister to Grace. Lilac is very relaxed whenever we work with her and feel that she is just as relaxed with our campers. She will be a great addition to not only our riding program but also for Animal Adventures in teaching campers how to read her tattoos and work with Mustangs.

We salute our horses who are no longer at camp and thank them for their dedicated service!

Click here to learn more about the Equestrian Program