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Summer Camp

The highlight of the Cotswold Vale year is annual summer camp which caters for ALL ages and is held at Cheltenham Racecourse & Ace Cross Country, both with fantastic facilities for children and ponies/horses.

Chief Coach Sarah Hance is responsible for all riding activities taking place during the week, and oversees a team of instructors across Mini/Junior and Senior Camp.

It takes a large team of staff and volunteer helpers, and a huge amount of planning, to look after children and ponies when they are not riding too!

Camp Dates 2025:

Senior Camp at Cheltenham Racecourse – Sunday 27th July to Friday 1st August

Mini & Junior Camps further details coming soon!

Sibling Discount for Camps

Being mindful that the cost of sending more than one child to Pony Club camps can be difficult for families at a time when the cost of living has escalated, the Committee has decided to introduce discounts for siblings. This will apply across all 3 Camps – Senior, Junior and Mini.

The oldest child will pay the full fee, but their next sibling will receive a 10% discount, irrespective of which Camp they attend. If there are more than 2 siblings, the 3rd and any other will be entitled to a 20% discount.

For example, if there are 3 siblings, one each attending Senior, Junior and Mini, they would have a 10% discount on the Junior Camp and a 20% discount on Mini Camp.

For parents who have already paid instalments for Senior Camp, their final payment will be adjusted so that they receive the discount.

Senior Camp

Senior camp is a residential camp (Sunday to Friday) for members aged 11 plus, based at Cheltenham Racecourse and held during the last week of July / first week of August: the children and the ponies sleep in comfort in the stables in the top yard, and riding takes place in the centre of the racecourse, overlooked by the spectacular surroundings of Cleeve Hill.

On the Thursday of camp, the children have the thrill of riding up the gallops – in controlled twos or threes! – and towards the end of the week the children will also be given the opportunity to jump a chase or hurdle, subject to the coach knowing the child/pony to be competent and safe to do so.

During the week, there is ‘Mufti’ day where riders, ponies and instructors get dressed up – themes have included Hollywood, Olympics, Neon and Rio, and everyone enters into the spirit of things. Other activities include rounders, water fights in the stable yard, a Wednesday evening social when parents join us – and, of course, there is the daily stable management routine and competition between stable sections to score the most points for presentation, helpfulness and riding performance.  On the last day of camp on Friday, there is a friendly competition across showjumping, cross country and dressage, and also a hunt relay. Camp is cleared down on Friday afternoon and ponies taken home, with the children staying on for final clearing up and prizes.

Food at Senior Camp

The children have a fantastic choice of meals during their stay at camp, and all dietary needs are catered for by our chefs.  Children are discouraged from bringing large amounts of sweets in to camp, as this often means they do not eat properly at meal times. It’s an incredibly busy week for the children, and we place high priority on providing filling, nutritious and delicious meals throughout the week to keep them going!