18 • Call 1.800.348.4732 it provides a place for peace and reflection. And, if you’re a young summer-camper, it’s a place for fun, camaraderie and new experiences. But why did it take until 2018 for the Marianists to offer an overnight camp for girls? To a large extent, it was a staffing issue, says Kay Tally-Foos, who has been Tecaboca’s director for nine years. “It’s a challenge to run a boys camp and a girls camp with the same staff,” says Kay. “We wanted to make sure we could do both successfully.” Launching the girls camp this year was espe- cially sweet. “We believe that it was providential — that of course a girls camp would come together in the year of Mother Adele’s beatification,” Kay says with a happy laugh. (Adèle de Batz de Trenquelléon, founder of the Marianist Sisters, was beatified by Pope Francis on June 10.) To help prepare, Tecaboca offered a coed summer day camp in 2017, drawing youngsters from nearby communities. “This was a way for us to get a feel for what activities the girls enjoyed and how we needed to adapt camp for them,” says Kay. Welcome to Remuda Vaquera! The girls camp was dubbed “Remuda Vaquera” in reference to the session’s equine focus. A “remuda” is the group of horses traditionally used for a cattle drive. ”Vaquera” means cowgirl. Like peanut butter and jelly, horses and cowgirls belong together. “We knew that making this a horse camp would be a big draw for girls. Many girls this age love horses,” says Kay. Sign-ups proved her correct. The camp was at capacity with 17 girls ranging from second to sixth grade. This younger group stayed a full week from Saturday to Sunday. An additional group of four older girls, from eighth to 10th grades, accompanied the younger crowd for the week, then stayed for four more days of leadership development. Only a few of the girls had previous experience with horses, which meant there was ample opportunity for learning. “A horse is a big animal, but it’s also a prey animal. It wants direction from its human handlers. So the girls needed to learn to be the authority figures when handling the horses,” says Kay. From this, the girls learn confidence and responsibility. “It’s very empow- ering for a young girl to realize she has the ability to manage a horse.” Kay recounted the evolution of one 8-year-old camper. “She literally was trembling around the horses on her first day of camp,” Kay says. By the middle of the week, however, the girl was leading her big Palomino proudly and looking forward to the day’s trail ride. Beyond the obvious In addition to riding and caring for horses, the vaqueras enjoyed other traditional Tecaboca activities includ- ing archery, riflery, crafts, swimming, canoeing and, of course, outdoor Mass. They were responsible for a daily list of chores including pre- paring some of their meals; feeding the goats, chickens, donkey and horses; cleaning the stables and collecting eggs. All of which, Kay says, can build a girl’s faith. “Naturally we’re intentional about praying before meals, and we always said our own Three O’Clock Prayer with Our Lady of the Pillar,” she says. But the lessons extend beyond the obvious. “We run a camp that demonstrates how Christ told us to live, how to behave, how to treat one another,” Kay says. “That means we model kindness and compassion.” For a mother of two campers, this was a special blessing. “I love that the camp was faith-based; that Girls learn a variety of skills, from tending gardens and outdoor cooking to archery, canoeing and swimming. Nora Schoessow displays her archery skills.