Every kid's a cowboy at Yuma camp

Marcus Garcia walked down the dusty path that led to the horses, smiled broadly and proclaimed, “I'm a cowboy.”

A camp instructor helped him don a cowboy hat and bandanna to keep the sun and sweat from his eyes, and Marcus' mom found her own reason to grin as her son prepared to saddle up for a ride in the ring.

“He just loves it,” Patty Garcia said with a smile more subtle than her son's. “Just wait till he gets up there.”

Marcus is 18 and until a couple of weeks ago, he had never ridden a horse. All that changed thanks to Blue Skies Cowboy Camp, a pilot program that's giving developmentally delayed children and adults an opportunity to interact with horses, as well as their peers.

Not only are Garcia's sons taking part in the four-week camp, as president of The Arc of Yuma County, she helped to launch it. Garcia knows firsthand that Yuma needs more activities for special needs individuals, and it's a problem the organization aims to remedy.

For two hours every weekday morning, as many as eight campers ages 10 and up have shown up at the Saddles of Joy stables, located off of County 14th Street. The country setting includes a petting zoo and small library where participants make crafts.

The camp, which wraps up this week, is free. The Norwalk Motorcycle Club and Colorado River Riders provided volunteers and funds that paid for two special education teachers to supervise the campers, Garcia said. She has high hopes it will resume next summer.

“Yeehaw! Yeehaw!” Marcus called out while two volunteers walked alongside the horse and guided the pair around the ring. Marcus spotted his mom and waved.

Each camper goes at his or her own pace, Garcia said. Her older son, Victor, 24, hasn't ridden a horse yet, but he enjoys socializing with the volunteers, she said.

The horses, she noticed, have a calming effect on the campers. Muscles that are normally tense relax.

Although Saddles of Joy is well-known in Yuma County for its work with special needs young people, this is the first collaboration with The Arc of Yuma County, said Saddles of Joy founder Barbara Tomlinson.

Standing outside the ring, Tomlinson spotted a camper who had begun to use the reins on his own.

“Santiago, can you do a circle for me?” she called out. ”Good job, Santiago, good job.”

“They're so happy, it just makes you happy,” she said.

Volunteer Eleanor Tilley, 23, is a member of the Colorado River Riders. The local Wild West re-enactment group chose the cowboy camp as its charity this year, she said.

The participants seem to respond favorably to the interaction with the animals and the volunteers, Tilley said.

“It really does change them. You don't see it at first, but they start talking more. They get more comfortable.”

Volunteer David Adler, 14, said some campers weren't sure they wanted to ride that first day, but by the next morning they couldn't wait to get on a horse.

After their rides, campers cooled off in a small library decorated with pictures of horses. They made beaded necklaces while teachers Terrian Mitchell and Rebecca McIver made plans for more craft projects: tie-dye shirts and ice cream making.

“I'm hungry,” Marcus said.

“You're always hungry,” Mitchell said teasingly. “You want to go to pizza camp, don't you?”

Actually, these teachers say they hope the cowboy camp will live to see another summer and perhaps go longer than four weeks next time. But it's not just up to them to decide.

“We hope we will get some future support from the community,” McIver said.