FAQ&A
At Camp Pinnacle, we've done our best to create a Web site that anticipates and satisfies your needs. With that goal in mind, we've compiled a list of frequently asked questions. If you do not find an answer to your question here, give us a call at 518-872-9100 or send us an e-mail.
How can I be involved at Camp Pinnacle?
Oooooh - Glad you asked that one!
Donate to our BARN FUND
The Pinnacle Diamond Ranch staff is trying to raise $30,000 for a barn. We have the location and the plans, we have folks helping with the site-prep, water & electricity, and the foundation... but we are in desperate need of funds to complete the purchase and construction of the barn for our babies.
If you feel led to help us financially that would be great!
You can make a donation to camp many different ways, through the mail, by credit card over the phone, or on the Camp website at www.camppinnacle.org. We are also working on getting a Paypal link set up for donations to the Barn Fund. Please specify that you are donating to the Barn Fund (or even the Horse Program in general) when you send your donation.
Donate supplies to the Horse Program
There is also a never-ending need of supplies for the Horse Program, from small things to the very large! If there is anything on the following list that you have, know someone who has, or would like to purchase (or donate toward) for the Ranch, please know that we would be extremely grateful.
- Hay
- Synthetic western saddles - 13, 14 and 15 inch saddles
- Manure forks
- A two- three- or four- horse bumper-pull trailer
- A 4WD of AWD pickup truck that would haul a trailer
- Thick bright-colored saddle pads
- Wheel barrows
- Landscape rails for ground poles and jumps
- White Troxel “Sport” riding helmets sizes extra small, small and medium
- Horse treats
- Horse fly spray (Bronco Gold is what we usually use)
- Fly masks with ears
- Horse de-worming medicine. (We use Ivermectin, Fenbendazole and Pyrantel Pamoate in a three-stage cycle and have 15 horses to de-worm)
- Step-in electric fence posts
- 7-foot metal T-posts for fencing
- 1-inch electrical fence tape
- Nutrena Safe Choice and Empower feeds. (Nutrena is wonderful to our horses, they supply us with feed at a Buy-One-Get-One-Free rate, so really supplying us with money to buy it at Applebee’s in Westerlo would be best.)
- Lumber and hardware for our stalls and the inside set-up for our barn
- Books and magazine about horses for the HorseCampers to read and learn from
Volunteer
There are so many things that you can do at Camp Pinnacle and Pinnacle Diamond Ranch. While we always need donations of “stuff”, we can also use your time and efforts! Bring your youth group, your homeschool group, your family, your Girl or Boy Scout Troop, any number of friends up to Camp and work on a project - we’ll even feed you! Projects up here come in all shapes and sizes and we would appreciate any help you can give.
Counselors and Staff
There are a number of ways that you can be involved in Camp Pinnacle’s ministry to youth and teens this summer. Camp Pinnacle hires godly counselors, skill class instructors, life guards, nurses, housekeepers, kitchen & maintenance staff members who are looking for an opportunity to minister to our campers. We have a detailed interview process and run an in-depth background check on every employee we consider hiring to work at camp. Counselors and staff come to camp for a week of training and team-building before the campers arrive and many are certified in first aid and CPR.
If you feel that the Lord is leading you to possibly come work as a counselor or summer staff member at Camp Pinnacle this summer, please feel free to go to the Camp Pinnacle’s web site to fill out an application for employment.
RanchHands
The horse program is offering an additional separate opportunity for HorseKids. If you are 15 years old or older, a hard worker and a horse lover - whether you have a lot of HorseSense (horse knowledge & experience) or not, you may choose to apply to be a RanchHand at Camp for a week or more.
RanchHands are volunteers who help out with the classes and the care of the horses. They are not assistant instructors or counselors, but they will still go through the application process and background check, as well as training. Ranch Hands will be involved with Bible Study and take part in evening activities with the rest of the campers and staff. RanchHands are not paid, nor do they pay to come to camp.
If you feel that the Lord is leading you to possibly come be a RanchHand at Camp this summer, please feel free to e-mail Ellen to start the Ranch Hand application process. Please note: RanchHands will be working hard and, although it is likely, there is no guarantee that they will get a chance to ride.
One more qualification: If you are of RanchHand and camper age you must be a camper for a week in order to be a RanchHand for a week. In other words, being a RanchHand can not (and is not designed to) take the place of your camper experience at Camp Pinnacle. Camp and God come first!
What do I need to bring to camp?
There are a few of things that HorseCampers need to bring with them that “normal” campers don’t. Here are some examples:
Heavy shoes or boots.
There are two reasons this is important:
1. Horseback riding is dangerous. When your feet are that close to an average of 1400 pounds of horse you run the very real risk of getting stepped on and you need to be wearing something on your feet that will protect them. Because of this no one is allowed across the road to the horses without the proper footwear. That means no bare feet, sandals, flip flops, flimsy sneakers or any shoes like that.
2. Horseback riding is dangerous. When you don’t wear shoes with a heel that will keep your foot from sliding all the way into the stirrup, it is an accident wait to happen. The reason riding students are asked to get boots with a heel is to avoid just that. If you have ever watched a rodeo and seen a bull rider stuck to a bull by their hand or foot you know how dangerous and scary that can be.
Try checking out Wal-Mart or K-Mart’s selection of workboots for a good inexpensive boot for riding. Both stores have boots with a small heel (about an inch) and those that are waterproof and/or have a steel toe. Any or all of these features are nice - the heel is a necessity.
An ASTM-rated riding helmet.
There are many reasons this is important!
Suffice to say, (again!) that horseback riding is dangerous. There is always a chance of a rider falling off or getting thrown from a horse. Even the best-trained, most careful and experienced rider can have an accident. It is true that some people have been paralyzed or killed even while wearing a riding helmet, but the fact remains that the severity of riding injuries is far more serious without a helmet than those experienced with one on. There is little more important than protecting your brain. Because of this, no one is allowed to ride the horses at Pinnacle without a helmet on.
(?1) poll - The top of your horse’s head right between his ears.
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