Meet the Herd!

We’re Not Just Horsing Around

Freckles is a 12 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 hroses 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 20 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 16 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 dun quarter 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.

Copper is the newest addition to The Painted Turtle herd! Thanks to his wonderful owners Linda and Marty Vertefeuille, he will be spending the entire summer with us. Copper is 26 years old and has been on trails for most of his life. He has a sweet temperament which we know the campers will enjoy as they shower him with lots of love and attention.

Franny and Lucy are Percheron horses who are also sisters. Before coming to camp they lived together as wagon horses in Coachella. Thanks to Alexander and Betty Haagen and the Empire Polo Club, we not only received these two beautiful horses, but we also received the wagon that they pull! The wagon is used for special events and is integrated into our regular year-round equestrian program.

Skippy is a 24-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.

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