Horses, Soccer and Gourmet Meals
Open to both girls and boys, Camp Stewart is hosting a fantastic weekend and we hope you can join us!
Dates: Friday, November 4 — Sunday, November 6
“Through the years so many folks have asked me why we did not offer a horsemanship clinic, so I thought we’d try one and see if the interest was genuine.
Along with the popularity of soccer and having Conor’s (Murray, Program Director) expertise and knowledge of soccer, it seemed a good idea to offer both concurrently. Plus, fall is such a gorgeous time in the Hill Country, I thought some families would be interested in having a weekend-getaway while their children (or spouse) receive real skill immersion.
A real bonus is that Chef Doan Shockley plans to make it a culinary weekend with menus based on seasonal and locally sourced foods. For the accompanying adults, the Saturday evening meal will feature wine pairings.”
-Jeeper Ragsdale
Horsemanship Clinic
$600
Per Clinic ParticipantSoccer Clinic
$400
Per Clinic Participant*Housing assignments will be based on date of registration
**Each participant must have a parent or responsible adult with them for the weekend
All participants will be housed at Stewart in guest housing as well as cabins. Housing assignments will be based on date of registration. Six gourmet meals (Friday night through Sunday lunch) will be in the Stewart Dining Hall, beginning with dinner Friday evening at 6 pm.
All-inclusive cost per participant is $400 for soccer and $600 for horseback for the weekend. (Includes horses, tack, etc).
Cost per accompanying parent is $130 (and each participant must have a parent or responsible adult with them for the weekend). This includes housing, bedding and meals.
Siblings not in either clinic under full parental supervision are $100 each. Siblings (ages 5 and up) wanting to do limited camp activities with George Morgan, associate director, are $140 each.
Persons taking the Horsemanship clinic need to bring boots and hardhat.
To Sign Up:
If you are interested in signing up for this fun weekend, please email meredith@campstewart.com or call Camp Stewart at 830-238-4670 for more information.
Instructor Backgrounds
Jeeper Ragsdale’s passion for horses began in very early childhood. He began his show jumping career at age 12 with Col. John Russell, while a student at San Antonio Academy. He competed nationally and internationally throughout his teens and in 1986 was the first person to win double gold medals in Show Jumping at the Olympic Festival (run by the USA Olympic Committee in off-Olympic years). He is the new riding instructor for the Pentathlon Equestrian Team (based in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Center) and was in Rio for the 2016 Olympics. He is a highly rated Polocrosse player, fox hunter and novice Polo player. Jeeper trains the Stewart and Heart summer equestrian staffs as well as overseeing the horseback program at both camps.
Conor Murray’s dream before developing a passion for camping was to be a Soccer Coach. He holds a US Soccer F license and is working towards his D and E license. He has coached in Scotland, England and the USA (Arkansas and Texas). He is a trained referee, and currently is a coach in the Hill Country Youth Soccer Association.
During his playing career he was twice the captain of the Scottish International Soccer Under 17 Team, which finished seasons 2009 and 2010 with winning records. He represented Scotland at Under 17 level three times, and was 5-time Player of the Year for Forth Valley.
Mario Fernandez, familiar to 2015-2016 Stewart Ranchmen, is a retired horseman who was five times USA National Champion and ten times Texas State Champion rider for the US Charro Association. His reining horse (which he trained), Moro, won every local, state and national event he ever entered. A well-known name in equestrian circles across the nation, Mario even trained girls to ride side saddle for Charro competitions. His rich resume includes training horses for movies, working ranches and the show/competition ring. He retired from active competition and training in 2014 and moved to Ingram, Texas.
Ashley Brune, who heads the equestrian program for foster children at Big Springs Ranch in Leakey, grew up in Canada, where she began riding at age 6. She has a deep background in dressage and vaulting, and believes it was vaulting that gave her confidence, seat and balance. She has been showing in dressage and show jumping since age 12 and added eventing competition at 14. She seriously competes currently in dressage, and will spend the winter months in Wellington, Florida, on the show circuit. She has already qualified her horse for dressage nationals in First and Second levels. She has studied extensively under top trainers in Germany, Canada and the USA.
Ashley believes in the importance of creating a partnership between horse and rider, and focuses her efforts on teaching the necessity of mutual trust, constant communication and respect.
Doan Shockley, CIA-Hyde Park trained chef, brings a wide and varied background to the culinary arts. Father of popular LT graduate Houston Shockley, Doan heads the culinary program at both Camps Stewart and Heart during the summer for recreation and is a wine importer for Martin Ulisse Imports (owned by a Heart O’the Hills camper family from Corpus) for his livelihood. For several years he was an instructor for the Hilton Hotel and Culinary School at University of Houston, and he owned his own restaurant for a number of years. Interestingly, prior to entering the culinary world, among other things Doan was in the family oil business, and a Chinese linguist for the US Navy (he speaks five languages). Doan loves the Hill Country and says he will take any excuse to visit!