So, i am currently trying to get a job at a boarding stable. it has 18 acres, 2 arenas (soon to be 3) and a huge barn. one of the things that the owner needs is an events coordinator (among other things) that she was wondering if i could help her out with to increase activity at the barn. she says pretty much all of the boarders there are pleasure and trail riders (nobody trains to be competitive). i have some good ideas so far, like little barrel racing competitions, raffles, costume contests and picnics, but i need more ideas for some HORSE AND RIDER activities. what are some fun things you do at your barn or wish your barn WOULD do??? :D

What about a gymkarna? (need to check spelling) games? egg and spoon beding poles etc? some fun games?

or an over night camp out on trials? if not to dangerous

if you have any enlish riders what about a chase me charlie?

I have very little experience with this but maybe like an art/craft day

I am not sure what you could really make tack wise. maybe treats or something for the horses?

she says there is only ONE girl who rides english there (out of about 20-25 boarders). i haven't done any ideas for an overnight or camping thing. those i will save until i get to know the property better and can map something out first. she said she would like to do some poles and stuff, but they don't have any poles. :/ even the barrels they have are makeshift. tough, right? lol. i will add the egg walk to the list! AND THREE LEGGED RACES!!!! lol.

thats a good idea you could paint on the horses skelton with washable paint

arts and crafts day is a great idea! :D they can use horse-safe paints to decorate their horses, too. lol. hmm.. no-bake horse cookies... i'll look it up!

I think that a great costume contest would he like the rider dresses up the horse in a costume and the rider dresses to match I will post some examples below

(My favorite)

omg that would be so cool fancy dress

i don't know how many kids they have there. i think most of her patrons are adults. but i'm sure most of them HAVE kids! lol. get some bbq events to start to get them to bring their families, then we can get a ballpark idea of how many kids to expect for future events.

LMAO! LOVE THE POODLE! i already have 2 costume event ideas (Halloween and Cowboys and Indians)

All brilliant ideas is she just a borders place or do they hire out horseS? here at our local riding school we have try a pony day where they pay couple of quid to walk around the school

it's a boarding place, but they have a trail (goes near the lake) and 2 arenas. they don't rent out any horses. the main reason she'd be hiring me is to train her and her husband as well as work with their 4 tennesse walkers. she grew up on the ranch, but hasn't ridden since she was 16. he has never ridden IN HIS LIFE and keeps falling off. also, one of their horses will NOT let them ride her (probably frustrated with their inexperience). none of their horses that THEY own are bomb-proof enough for me to confidently put anybody on them. if i start working there, i will start them on lunge work for at least a week or 2 to feel the horses out and do some sacking out (especially on the one that is terrified of EVERYTHING), then i'll be riding them. the property/boarding facility has been in her family since the 1920's, though.

my old stable use to have playdays around each of the holidays which had fun event for.everyone like costume contests,boxer short race, trotting races, barrels,ribbon races and even events for the younger non riders like egg tosses and such and then once a month would hold schooling shows....they were always fun and i even used the rental horses for the activities!!! they added a new contest during lunch for the kids on the schooling shows which was a stick horse competition!!! that was created when my boss saw my 5 yr old friend ridin her stick horse around during one of the shows!!!

ohh and they also held poker rides in which at each section you got a card and at the end of the trail whoever had the best hand one the prize!!

(totally stole this idea from the saddle club :p) but you could to a scavenger hunt out on the trails! Leave little marked flags with clues around the trail leading up to some sort of surprise at the end.

Since it's an older crowd (like not little kids) you could look into having some seminars or workshops on horse care/riding? And even though they aren't competitive riders, they may enjoy having just a fun schooling show for the people that ride there?

I just wish I had a barn to visit haha :D

Paints since 6-8-14

i think what we will do is have a bbq to start, then list some of the ideas (and i totally got an idea for a scavenger hunt from saddle club, too. LOL!) and ask people if they would enjoy this or that activity. like a survey. so we can get a better idea of what kind of entertainment they are looking for! thanks everyone for all of the ideas, it really has helped! i now have at least 10 event rough draft outlines. :3 

One of my favorites was dollar ride, or buck ride... basically all the riders had to get $1 bill, ride bareback, and stick it under their thigh.  There's someone in the middle calling out what gait they need to ride at (walk, trot, canter, gallop, etc).  The last person with the buck still under their leg wins all the other dollars that have fallen! ☺

Is it just on site activities, or would destination activties be a possibilty as well?

oh, that's a GREAT activity, tron! :D

"One of my favorites was dollar ride, or buck ride... basically all the riders had to get $1 bill, ride bareback, and stick it under their thigh.  There's someone in the middle calling out what gait they need to ride at (walk, trot, canter, gallop, etc).  The last person with the buck still under their leg wins all the other dollars that have fallen! "

We used to kind of do that to make us keep our knees in, haha. They would stick a dollar under our knee and if we made it through the entire course with the dollar then we got to keep it, haha.