Лагерь Camp Rock в Валдосто демонстрирует, как верховая езда меняет жизни детей и молодежи

Camp Rock shows how horses can transform lives of children and young adults Published 4:35 pm Tuesday, August 25, 2026 VALDOSTA — The Valdosta North Rotary Club recently heard from Garrett Shanks, director of Camp Rock, a local Christian equestrian ministry serving children and young adults. Established in 2011, Camp Rock is built around the belief that horses can play an important role in helping young people grow emotionally, socially and intellecually. “We know that the horse accelerates the emotional and learning process for children,” Shanks told Rotarians. He said that realization was one of the driving forces behind the founding of Camp Rock. Located at 4407 Rocky Ford Road in Valdosta, the equestrian facility operates on a simple philosophy: “Transforming lives through genuine faith-based relationships and authentic horsemanship.” Shanks said that philosophy can be summed up in what he calls the three “T’s” — building trust, training life skills and, ultimately, seeing that training result in transformation. The same principles, he explained, are involved in working with an unbroken horse. Before the horse can be trained, a relationship of trust must be established. From that foundation comes training and, eventually, transformation. The approach appears to be well received by the community. Camp Rock’s annual rodeo draws approximately 30,000 attendees making it one of the facility’s major annual events. This year’s Camp Rock Rodeo is scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 9 at the Rocky Ford Road facility. The rodeo is only one of the activities offered by Camp Rock. The ministry also hosts open horse shows and clinics, along with a Christmas performance in which students present a live horse show combined with a Nativity act for the public. Camp Rock also offers riding lessons, leadership retreats, training, and horse boarding. The ministry has developed relationships with several organizations in the region, including the Lowndes County 4-H Horse Club, the Valdosta State University Equestrian Team and the Albany Marines-Mounted Color Guard. For more information about Camp Rock, contact Garrett Shanks at [email protected] or call (229) 244-1920. The Valdosta North Rotary Club meets on the first three Tuesdays of each month at noon at the Valdosta Country Club. The club uses its monthly programs to increase members’ awareness of opportunities to better serve the community. For information about the Valdosta North Rotary Club or membership, contact President John Alford at [email protected] or Membership Chair Gary Wisenbaker at [email protected].