It is a proven fact that equestrian activities are therapeutic for at-risk children who have physical, mental or emotional disabilities.
When you add gymnastics on horse back to the equation, scripture memorization and activities that promote teamwork and trust, it is easy to see why lives are transformed at Wings Like Eagles Horse Camp in Monument.
“I can see God working in the lives of the kids and the other counselors,” said Preston Ford, 17, who works as a vaulting coach at the camp. “We learn as much from the kids as they learn from us.”
Wings Like Eagles is a free-of-charge non-profit Christian horse camp that was started in the 1980s by Duncan and Michele Bremer. The horse camp attracts about 120 kids for two, one-week sessions each June. The second session of 2011 wrapped up with a performance in front of family and friends on June 25 in the arena.
“It’s amazing,” Ford said. “Especially for the kids who enjoy playing in the dirt most of the time.”
The Bremers have eight magnificent Morgan horses, a pony and a donkey. Campers are required to help care for the animals while they are there. The training takes the form of hands-on work and other horse and farm related activities. The camp’s purpose also includes training young adults in leadership, responsibility, character development, and spiritual maturity.
The name of the camp comes from Isaiah 40:31: “Those who rely on the Lord will acquire His strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles.”
“We’ve raised most of our horses by hand,” Duncan Bremer said. “The major cost of the camp is feeding the horses. We rely on local businesses and churches to help support us.”
The average camper is about 10-years-old. Campers can be kids with special needs, missionary kids, adopted kids, those with unexplained school failures, children with family members who are deployed, or are facing other challenges in the family. They receive instruction from teenagers — most of them high school age — who specialize as vault coaches, counselors and horse trainers. Essentially, teenagers run the camp.
Lydia Jeub, 17, has been involved with Wings Like Eagles for nine years — the last two as a counselor. “Once you get on that horse you gain confidence,” Jeub said. “You learn to trust yourself with others and with God.”
Carrie Gray, 18, is enjoying her first year as a horse trainer after four years as a counselor. “There are a lot of parallels with our relationship with horses and our relationship with God,” she said. “We need to submit to God so we can be drawn into a deeper relationship with Him. In a similar way, a horse may not understand what we’re doing, but when they submit to us we can communicate with them.”
Each of the Bremer’s three boys worked at the camp, and they all attended Lewis-Palmer High School. Eli, their middle son, is perhaps the most well known. That would be because he’s one of America’s top modern pentathletes. Eli, who finished 23rd overall at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is training for a spot on the 2012 Olympic team. October’s Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, will give him a good indication of where he stands.
Wings Like Eagles got its start in 1985; a year after the Bremers built their home on the property. The Bremer’s youngest son, Justin, was struggling with unexplained failures in school. A friend of the family suggested that a therapeutic riding program might benefit him.
“At a certain point we decided we wanted to focus on kids who were having similar struggles,” Michele Bremer said. “We want kids to understand what their particular gifts are and have a fantastic time doing it.”
Wings Like Eagles is also a Boy Scouts explorer post. Each of the 35 counselors, coaches and horse trainers are required to register with Boy Scouts of America.