It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Gift Certificates Available..

Is Your Daughter Begging Santa for a Horse?

At Saddle Camp, she can have her own horse for as long as she stays.

Whether it be a Mini Adventure Ride, Horsemanship Day, Picnic Trail Ride, River Ride, Gymkhana, Show Day, Slumber Party, Weekend Camp, Long Weekend Camp or a 4 Day/3 Night Camp.

You can make her dreams come true by booking her Riding Adventure.  

And I can send you a Gift Certificate so she has something tangible under the Christmas Tree ready for Christmas Day.

You can see all the details, dates and places available for each of the

overnight camps here  

and the shorter day rides here.

You can click here for a quick video of all the fun at Saddle Camp.

She can choose her horse here, and I’ll do my absolute best to make sure it’s hers.  If I can’t, I’ll let you know in case you’d like to change dates to make it happen.

Reply email to ask any questions at all, or call Helen on 0417 456 093.

Wishing you all the Joy & Happiness for the Christmas Season ahead!

From Helen, Cadie, Champ, Axl and Harry xoxox

Slushies at Saddle Camp!

Just in Time for Summer :)

We now have a busily working Slushie Machine, filled with frozen Pink Lemonade.

So when you’re here for a Day Camp, Overnight Camp, or Party, there’ll be an endless supply of Slushies to cool you down.

And if you’re staying in our Tiny House, popping in for a treat at the Cafe, visiting the farm animals, or having a splash at the Bombay Reserve swimming holes, they’re just $2.50 each.

Cool down, relax and enjoy!

For the Parents! Java's Indonesian Ready to Heat & Eat Meals available in our Farm Shop!

Daniar Robinson has recently opened her gorgeous Indonesian Restaurant in town - Java Braidwood.

We absolutely loved our dinner out at Java Braidwood, and Daniar asked if we would like her meals available to sell in our Farm Shop and Cafe!

We now have:

Beef Rendang, Tofu Rendang, Sweet & Sour Pineapple Barramundi, Nasi Goreng and simple Jasmine Rice available here.  

If you’re staying at Saddle Camp, live nearby, or you’re looking for a delicious, healthy dinner that can be tucked away in the freezer for a quick meal after horse riding - then this is a great option.

I’ve made links to each of the meals so you can see the ingredients, and re-heating instructions.

Also, I’m really excited at how it fits in with our “Taste of Braidwood” experience.  I know it draws a long bow, but it fits in beautifully with the origin story of the indigenous tribes that originally lived here.

I read in Jackie French’s book “Let the Land Speak” that the current theory of the original Australian inhabitants is that about 60,000 years ago there was a lot of volcanic upheaval happening around Indonesia.

Jackie wrote a beautiful story about one of the women in a tribe on the coast in Indonesia gathering her remaining community after a tsunami had washed through their village, and a volcano had erupted inland, and suggesting that they take their boats and row South.  

She’d noticed birds travelling in that direction and was convinced there was a safe land mass in that direction.

Just three families were brave enough to trust her instincts, and they rowed through the day, night and another day.

It coincides with the last ice age, so the Indian Ocean wasn’t as wide as it is today.

She wore a necklace of seeds around her neck, bringing the means of producing familiar food with them to get them started in their new home.

About 20,000 years later, their descendants slowly migrated further south, to Braidwood and beyond.

Java Restaurant brings all those famous Indonesian ingredients and flavours together, making these meals healthy, delicious AND an experience of our local History.

PLUS

The beef is holistically raised at Jillamatong Farm (Martin Royds’ farm - famed for his biodynamic, hydrating the landscape, and building soil farming systems).  For more of his details - google search Jillamatong Martin Royds.  There were too many videos and articles for me to choose from!

AND some of the meals are Gluten Free, Nut Free and Dairy Free.  

Easy for Vegans :)

And if you’d like to eat at Java Restaurant - and try all Daniar’s meals served fresh and beautifully presented - see Java Braidwood | Restaurant in Braidwood, lunch and dinner.

Selamat Makan (enjoy the food)!

My Predictions for our Children's Future Careers...

I predict a lot of our children are going to make their careers working in with nature, and with producing our food.

I believe they’ll have easy access to the information and skills necessary to meet the challenges ahead, and that they’ll make a good living doing it.  Ie, they’ll be profitable.

And I believe it’s going to be brilliant for their health, well-being and our planet.

But just recently I was talking to a gentleman here whose wife was telling him she’d love if they could buy their own little farm.  But he said “It’s just so much work”.

It stopped me in my tracks.  And made me want to write this note to you!

This doesn’t feel like work.  This feels like living :)  

And I’ve noticed most of the children I meet feel the same way.

Making a living on a farm these days, isn’t the same as it has been for the last few generations.

After World War II the priority was “to Feed the World” - which meant “make cheap food”.

But it’s become evident that cheap food isn’t nutritious and is causing problems with our health and the environment.

And here in Braidwood, I feel like I have a front row seat seeing how the farming industry is changing.  There are more families moving to the area with the desire to produce food, without having to leave their own careers (and established income streams), thanks to the internet.  

And there are many established farmers who are interested in, and have the resources behind them, to try new things.  Diversifing.

I’m seeing many people using holistic grazing to manage their pastures - and now virtual fencing is making that easier every day.

I see the government departments supporting farmers, with business coaching, freely given information, and grants for projects that will prepare us for disasters ahead.  And they’re working on de-centralising our food system.

And they’re lifting red-tape/passing new legislation to make it easier for the next generations to stay on the family farm.

I also see Robot Harvesters and Robot Weeders being experimented with, and different farming systems that include trees, grazing animals and crops all included together.  Polycultures instead of Monocultures

And I’m also seeing how easy it is to sell on-line.  

If farming is something you or your children are interested in, and you’d like a little taste of it to find out more, please come and visit :)

Walk the paddocks, meet the farm animals, watch the wild animals, pick some food and snack on it, breathe the fresh air, and ask any questions you can think of.

We’d love to help you enjoy this lifestyle/career too!

We’re here 7 days a week, and our Cafe’s open from 7.30 am to 7 pm.

There’s no entry fee, and you’re welcome to head out on a self-guided tour and join in our Wildlife Photo Competition (7 photos of wild animals at Saddle Camp for a prize).

Or you might choose to:

If you’d like more resources to give you a better picture of what I’m seeing unfolding - try these:

  • You Can Farm, written by Joel Salatin

  • Down To Earth, Netflix Series by Zac Effron

  • Call of the Reed Warbler, written by Charles Massey

  • Dirt to Soil, One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture, written by Gabe Brown

  • RegenNarration - podcast by Anthony James

  • Biggest Little Farm - a Documentary by John & Molly Chester

  • Service NSW - Business Support by NSW Government

Saddle Camp Farmers :)

With Best Wishes for a Bright, Joyful and Fun Future ahead,

Helen xoxox

We're having a blast hosting Farm Parties

Thank You so much to Christina and Lorba for letting me snap and share some of these gorgeous photos!

We’re loving seeing the children running through the paddocks together to get to the goats.

Climbing over obstacles, up trees and vying for the goats attention with their seaweed snacks.  And often eating the seaweed snacks themselves.  

And their delight at finding the chicken eggs in the hutch.

It’s so lovely to see their care and attention when handling the baby chicks.  And their enthusiasm and camaraderie tasting the bush tucker.

Their shoulders relax and their smiles grow as they get used to the pony’s movement, and as they start riding with “no hands”, playing the Mug Race and going for a trot.

After a few turns they’re asking to ride over the jumps, and to go even faster…

It’s hilarious seeing some of their poses on the Sulky and Pee Wee motorbike, and seeing them swing the lasso and try cracking the whip.

And the games on foot in the arena are SO MUCH FUN!  The Boot Throw, Egg & Spoon Race, Sack Race and a huge game of tag are awesome to watch.  

And then to see them try to outdo each other on the trampoline is pretty inspiring, sometimes breathtaking :)

We’re getting the hang of the menu, watching what disappears the quickest and making notes of what to serve more of.  

I’m just having a little trouble slowing everyone down to pick the veggies from the garden for our salad, as we race back from the goats.

And now we’re working on making it easier for the Party Organiser with pre-written Invitations, a running sheet for the party, and comfortable seating for the parents Everywhere!  So they can see as much of the action as possible while catching up on everyone’s news.

We’ve also noticed that the Farm Parties are loved most by boys, from the ages of 3 to 8 years.  The girls want more horse riding!

The only thing we haven’t worked out how to include yet is a Birthday Cake and Lolly Bags.  They’re the only things not included.

If you’re interested in booking a Farm Party, where the children are out in the fresh air, on a wild farm experience with their friends, then follow this link.

They’re available every day, from 11 am to 1 pm, with a minimum of 6 children @ $30/child. Parents are welcome free of charge, and brothers and sisters of guests can be included too.

Click Here to Book a Farm Party.  

Or if you have a friend that might be interested, could you pass this on to them?

Welcome to Harry - our New Horse :)

This is my way of gently breaking the news to you that we lost Destiny to colic 10 days ago.  

To help stop the tears, we began searching for a new horse that would - hopefully - bring just as much joy to our lives.

And we found Harry!

And Oh My Goodness - the stars seemed to have all aligned at once!

His previous owner retired him from eventing, just recently, as she felt he wasn’t enjoying the competition world so much anymore.

She put her ad out for a quieter, loving home on Tuesday night, and I found it at 6 am on Wednesday morning.

This is what I read:

“Handsome All Rounder, for Trail Riding, Adult Riding Club and Navigation Rides.

Harry is a 15.2 hh, 17 year old Quarter Horse x Stock Horse gelding.

Retired only recently from low level Adult Riding Club, Equestrian Australia Eventing and Show Jumping.

Harry carries his age well and is a very good doer.  While he’s been used as my competition horse he actually excels in trail riding and this is where he is truly great!

Very reliable and safe on the trail by himself, happily walks out and will pop over a log or canter up a hill when asked.  Harry will go into water and loves a swim.

He is well mannered on the ground, good to catch, shoe, rug and float.”

Dexter and I drove out to meet him on Thursday (it was a wild 12 hour round trip) and we were really, really impressed with him, and his owner.

He lunges beautifully, has already done a lot of Parelli Natural Horsemanship training, is often ridden bitless, and is very cool and relaxed jumping and doing flatwork (dressage).

His wonderful previous owner brought him here on Saturday, and he’s spent the weekend joining in our rides and classes - just being led - so we can gently introduce him to all the fun ahead.  And Yes, he loves the dam :)

Fingers crossed you’ll love him too!

With Best Wishes and Lots of Hugs from Helen, Champ, Cadie, Axl and now Harry xoxox

Holiday Watching - How to Trim A Horse's Hooves

In my quest to make learning to ride as easy and enjoyable as I can for you, I’ve recently come to realise I can only do it when our horses’ hooves are balanced correctly.

After years of taking it for granted, the last few years have been a bit tricky making that happen…

Thank you, Pip, for telling me about the brilliant Farrier Course you did with David Farmilo a few years ago, and sending me his website - www.horsefarrier.com.au!

It’s been an ABSOLUTE WEALTH of information, and the videos are short, quick and full of great usable advice.

I couldn’t wait to share it with you!  

Hopefully you have some time through the holidays to watch his quick videos on www.horsefarrier.com.au.

And if you’re joining us for a ride or a camp at Saddle Camp, I can’t wait to hear your opinion on our horse’s confirmation and movement!  

It’s a great way to develop your eye on how a horse is supposed to move.  Really important if you’d like to buy one, and especially if you’d like to compete.

I’ve always heard No Hoof, No Horse, and I really believe it now :)

Have fun watching, and I hope you have an Absolutely, Fantastic Autumn Holiday!

From Helen, Destiny, Axl, Cadie and Champ xoxox

Working Cows Podcast Interview with Colt Starter/Father Bret Davis on how to start your children on horses.

For all the parents .

I really loved listening to this episode with Colt Starter/Father of 3 on how we gets his children started on horses.

It’s an awesome perspective from a Cowboy’s POV, and it really fitted in with mine too.

Hope you enjoy it, and have a laugh too! From Helen

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/working-cows/id1307361758?i=1000651075469

Ride Horses this Canberra Day Long Weekend!

This weekend coming (9, 10 & 11 March) celebrates the day Canberra was officially named in 1903.

It was originally named Canberry (which means Meeting Place) by a local Ngunnawal clan.

And you can celebrate by meeting your old friends or meeting new friends,

riding horses at Saddle Camp!

There’s just a few places left for our:

Show Day

Gymkhana

River Ride

See all the Details Here

You could even stay for a Sunday Night Camp that would include our Show Day, Gymkhana and (optionally) our River Ride.  

It’s not on the booking system as it’s a little “customisable”, but you can hit reply to this email to ask questions and/or book in.

The Cafe is open for your parents to chill at, or to take a picnic out and relax in a hammock.  

Tell your brother to bring his bike or skateboard for the new Skateboard Park in town :)  

The swimming holes nearby are divine to cool off, and the weather is perfect for being outdoors.  

Check out www.saddlecamp.com.au and www.braidwoodfarmstay.com.au to plan your awesome long weekend!

And call Helen on 0417 456 093 if you have any questions!

Wishing you a Very Happy “Meeting Place” Weekend,

from Helen, Rob, Blake, Dexter & Carson xoxox