As summer hit its unofficial end today with area students heading back to the classrooms, some will take back lots of memories thanks to a camp right in the Phoenixville area.

Dozens of girls made the trot out to Piece of Paradise Farm on Creek Road for the first ever equestrian summer camp held there. Run by Julianne Scanlon, who also offers boarding and lessons, the camp was full each week it was held this summer.

Each week offered something different, though the general schedule of each day was the same. Days were filled with riding, games and lessons. In the hot afternoons, the girls played tossed water balloons or slid down a slip and slide to keep cool. After lunch, they worked on arts and crafts projects, like baking for the horses and making horseshoe photo frames.

Special guests, like a horse dentist and the local farrier, taught the girls about how to take care of the horses. The camp puts a huge emphasis on safety when riding, as well.

“There’s so much to know just to be safe,” Scanlon said.

Riding students of Scanlon’s come out to help, and the older girls said they loved the experience of coming out each day to assist the younger riders.

“It’s always just more fun to ride in a group,” Scanlon said.

Her mom, Carolmarie Scanlon, sets up the arts and crafts for the week and serves as nurse for the campers. She expressed pride in her daughter’s work throughout the summer and in all of her work at Piece of Paradise Farm.

“She said to us, ‘I want to do a summer camp,’ and here it is,” Carolmarie Scanlon said. “The girls learn so much about horses. They get to know the parts of the horse, the parts of the saddle and bridle, all about the different colors and markings—it’s a little bit of everything.”

Each day, the girls ride a different horse to get the feel for different experiences and quirks of each one. Many of the horses at Piece of Paradise Farm are former race horses from an area track. The girls clean up after the horses, hose them down and care for them during the week-long day camp.

Julianne Scanlon was happy with the response to the camp, which brought many area girls out to the 23-acre farm. She’s been at Piece of Paradise Farm for two years now, and explained that camp has been a great experience for her and the girls who were involved.

“All they want to do is learn,” she said. “They just love it.”

For more information on Piece of Paradise Farm, visit the website or check out the farm on Facebook.