Job Memo - Final

 Running a horse camp is like being at the circus. It is constant and complete chaos. I can imagine that not many people go to a six-week summer camp for aspiring equestrians (horse riders), so allow me to give you a brief idea of what that looks like. 

 

 

Right about now you might be wondering what exactly a horse camp entails. It has many components of a normal summer camp such as arts and crafts, water games, songs, and educational experiences. However, you also learn how to care for and ride fifteen-hundred-pound animals. 

 

 

There were certain difficulties with this program. The kids ranged in age from four or five years old to seventeen or eighteen. Some kids came to me never having been around horses in their life. Others came with years of experience. I usually had about twenty to thirty kids at any given time. It was also in Las Vegas during the summer. If you are at all familiar with Vegas, you know that that means you are absolutely baking in about 115-degree weather. And if all that isn't enough, I was doing this entirely on my own. I created the program and ran it alone. I was the ringmaster of this circus. 

 

 

So how does one entertain, educate, and supervise, this diverse group? There are three necessary components to doing my job:

·      Teacher

·      Doctor

·      Accountant

 

 

Teacher

As ringmaster, I taught the kids these things about horses:

·      Anatomy

·      Grooming

·      Riding lessons

·      Dietary needs 

·      Preparing food 

·      Equipment needed and the names and parts of the equipment 

·      Safety rules

·      Exercise needs

An important part of this program to me was at the end of the day the kids had fun but left more knowledgeable than they came. How do you get a group of five- to eighteen-year-olds to have fun and learn in the same way? This is where I got creative and made it a competition. On the first day, I separated them into two groups. They named their teams and created a logo for themselves to boost morale. From that point on every activity was a competition. When a team won a particular activity, they got points. At the end of the program, the winning team got a prize and of course a trophy.

 

 

One example is how I would go about teaching the kids anatomy. I wrote all the different parts on little pieces of paper with tape. Then, the teams raced to stick all the papers on the corresponding parts. The team that finished first with complete accuracy won. This activity was a hit! They got faster and more accurate every time they did it. I accomplished my mission. The kids learned a great deal about the anatomy of a horse while having fun and bonding with their friends.

 

 

Doctor

Horses are giant animals. Riding is a dangerous sport. There are bound to be accidents. As ringmaster I served as a doctor in the following ways:

·      Treating various wounds

·      Knowing when more help is needed 

·      Emotionally caring for my patients

One example comes to mind of a girl of about seven years old. At the time the barn had this one horse that was a stallion. For those who do not know that means he was naturally feistier and more dangerous. I made it explicitly clear that he was not to be pet or fed. The kids needed to stay away from him. One afternoon I had all the kids in the barn aisle showing them how to properly hand-feed a horse. This little girl turned around and tried to feed the stallion. He bit her arm. She screamed. I immediately gave her an ice pack. I assessed her wounds and saw that the stallion had not punctured her skin. I She was overwhelmed, but she would be okay. After that, my main job was to calm her down. I cracked some jokes (which failed at first but ultimately won her over) and gave her ice cream to lift her spirits. I then had the unfortunate experience of calling her mother to explain what happened. 

 

 

Accountant

At the end of the day, this was a business. I served as an accountant for my business in these ways:

·      Calculate revenue, expenses, and profit

·      Budget 

·      Collect payment 

·      Managerial decisions: money spent on marketing and supplies

I needed to make tough calls. There isn't always a clear answer. I wanted to buy supplies to give them the best experience and attract more customers, but I also wanted to make a profit. What is the right balance? 

 

 

I also realized why accepting payment on credit is a hassle. I remember there was this one parent who would not bring me a check. I asked every day at pickup. I ended up having to say that the child could not continue coming if the parent didn't send payment. It was uncomfortable, but I had to hold my ground. The next day I received payment and the kid continued to come to camp. 

 

 

Reading Ease: 77.2

 

Grade Level: 5.3

 

Passive Sentences: 0%