And here we are, the Bear Family at the ‘graduation’ ceremony for Kym’s second horse riding camp at Japalouppe. The happy camper (literally) didn’t want to leave, but her parents were like, ‘Neigh, neigh’ at which point we told our adult birthers to rein in their wit, lest it canter away with the puns.
So, we got our certificate, had a snack, ran around showing Mamma and Baba bears our dorm, and then went off to mount our horse for the demonstration, for which everyone was seated in the viewing gallery, when we came up behind them and went ‘boo’, just to prank them.
We had a sip of water from Mamma Bear’s bottle, tucked in our shirt, wore our helmet, and off we went to demo what we learnt over the last week of the most exciting residential camp we’ve ever attended. (Note: We’ve attended only two, but one can have a favourite even in two, right?).
…and we’re done. And now, to pet all the animals, say bye to all the dogs, pat all the horses, bid adieu to the stones and trees and leaves and benches and hiding places, before finally cutting all the cakes brought by the parents of those who had falls from their steeds during training (that’s a Jap tradition) and hugging our friends, promising to be in touch over WhatsApp and email…and then, very very reluctantly, getting ready to return with our parents to what constitutes ‘normal’ life for us. Good bye, Japalouppe. We’ll be back soon!
P.S.: That’s Stella, by the way. The second sweetest horse at Jap. Freya, of course, remains our favourite. We even named her baby (Marcus, after the world men’s chess champion). But she developed a limp yesterday and had to rest. So, Stella to the rescue.
