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AND BARNYARD PALS Our Staff
Terry Tenzing -
Camp
Founder, Terry Tenzing, has a lifetime of
experience with children, horses and animals as
well as an extensive formal education. With an MA
in Intercultural Education and another MA in
Intuition Medicine, she has taught and counseled
children and parents in parenting and healthy life
skills development for over ten years. Her career
as an Assistant Dean of Foreign Student Advising at
Boston College; designing inter-cultural training
programs for student exchange; teaching European Au
Pairs in Manhattan; and working in the nonprofit
sector with the San Francisco Foundation when she
first moved to the Bay Area, Terry refers to as her
"other life". This time also revolved around being
married to the son of the first man to climb Mount
Everest, Tenzing Norgay, which afforded her many
adventures and unique opportunities. Most
importantly it gave her her beautiful daughter
Olivia Daku Tenzing Norgay. And although, she and
her daughter are world travelers, they cannot
imagine living anywhere else than where they now
make their home on the West Coast of
California. Terrys
extensive experience in equine care, land
management, and the study of people and horses is a
lifetime endeavor. Growing up in New England on a
small farm, her favorite memories are of their
familys campgrounds, their gardens and farm
animals. Terry got her first pony at age three.
That summer she and her brother were so small that
getting on their ponies was an impossible feat
alone. They figured out though to run out into the
fields first thing in the mornings while the ponies
were still lying down, climb on their backs, and
cling on for dear life! Oftentimes their ride was
brief and a quick mischievous buck would send Terry
or her brother tumbling off onto a patch of
grass!!! One of her favorite stories that her
grandmother loved to tell was of the day Terry's
pony Misty walked in the open back door of the
farmhouse and helped herself to a freshly baked
apple pie right off the farmhouse kitchen table!
Another story that brought great hilarity was when
her grandfather led both ponies inside the
farmhouse living room and one of the ponies pooped
right on their antique hooked rug!!! It is stories
like this, or her fond memories of raising
Mistys tiny baby foal, Tonka, as
a girl of only seven, that have instilled in Terry
a lifelong love of horses and ponies. In fact by
now, she considers herself a "pony whisperer", but
she would tell you that she can "whisper" to
children and animals as well. These early
childhood experiences, and the healing love from
her beloved pony Misty after the tragic death of
her father on the Thresher Submarine, instilled in
Terry a deep understanding of the potential for
connection between a young heart and her special
equine friend. It was
these early-life experiences that inspired Terry,
when her daughter was just nine-months old, to
accept the position of Manager of historic Shamrock
Ranch Stables. Situated only twenty minutes
outside of San Francisco, nestled in the mountains,
and within walking distance from the sea on the
majestic California Coast, Pacifica, CA, and the
almost 300 acre working ranch, became their home
for the next thirteen years. During those years as
a single mother, Terry created for her daughter,
not unlike the magic of her own childhood, a life
of animals, ponies and horses, a close-knit
community, the joy of living close to the land and
a freedom for an inspired childhood. Their close
friendships with their own ponies and horses, and
the herd of 25 horses who peered inside their
bedroom windows every morning, taught them both
more about horses feelings and their minds,
their needs and social behaviors, than any book
ever could. And while Terry is an accomplished
rider, she prefers to think of herself as being one
with the horse. She believes that it is the
connection that the horse and rider share, that
makes the ride ..
. and the
relationship. Terry
understands ponies deeply for, in addition to Ranch
management, it was her commitment to being a
stay-at-home parent to Olivia, that prompted her to
found "Friendly Pony Parties and Barnyard
Pals, when Olivia was only 2 ½ years
old. Now more than a decade later, her company
is considered by many as the premiere pony party
and petting zoo business in the Bay Area. Five
years after its inception, she established with the
Pastorinos Farms their On-the-Farm
parties in response to parents and little
peoples need to enjoy farm life more. Two
years after that, she began the Friendly Pony
Parties Camps programs for children to enjoy their
special birthday pony in a more
meaningful and substantive opportunity. Terry
hoped that by starting the camps that even the
youngest child would take away with them
experiences that would last their lifetime. After
three years of watching how hard it was for the
children to separate and have to wait from one
summer to the next before they saw their beloved
pony and farm animals friends again, Terry expanded
the camps program during all the school breaks and
holidays, many weekends, and throughout the entire
summer! In a new
endeavor, Terry began managing Madonna Creek Horse
Ranch in Half Moon Bay, California in the Spring of
2008. A part of Cozzolino Farms, (a.k.a.,
4-Cs Pumpkins and Christmas Trees), this
third-generation 230 acre parcel of land is a real
western working ranch. For our campers interested
in horses and farming life, having the chance to
experience the growing and harvesting of hay on
prime agricultural soil, learning about how they
raise their cattle, observing the abundant present
wildlife, hiking on their endless mountain trails,
and enjoying the growing of their pumpkins,
Christmas trees and flowers is an unsurpassable
experience. It could not be more ideal for our
campers and for many of our expanded camp
activities including our riding lesson program and
our Be a Rancher for a Day
Program. While
subscribing to many of the Natural Riding
principles of Sally Swift and Natural Horsemanship
concepts, Terry's style of teaching focuses on the
child building "their" own sense of confidence with
their pony and to listen from within.
Terry's goal is for them to develop their own
"horse sense"...to sense and read their pony's
mind, reactions, feelings and needs. Terry feels
that this is the necessary foundation of every good
horse and human relation and is the very
cornerstone of building not only the child's
confidence and own intuitive sense of trust and
awareness, but that it is the very basis for
eliciting a gentle, calm and trusting response from
their pony toward them. She and her
staff guide their students and campers to feel at
ease and comfortable and to own their new found
confidence and skills set in their new special
relationship with their pony. Terry wants a child
to find more confidence in themselves, own a sense
of pride and accomplishment, begin to develop
riding skills, and truly enjoy their time
spent. Terry and
her daughter Olivia, take great pride in their
ponies and animals health, happiness and
well-being. They raise their animals from babies,
and Olivia has had an egg business and raised
guinea pigs, bunnies and baby goats which she still
sells to local pet stores or children involved in
4-H. Their
animals are their family and both Terry and Olivia
feel that the kindness and respect shown them
directly translates to their capacity for trust and
enjoying interaction with people. They are
regularly told that their ponies and farm animals
are happiest and healthiest animals people have
ever seen. And nothing
could make
either of these two ranch girls happier.
Olivia Tenzing -
Olivia
is Terrys daughter, a camp counselor, an
accomplished equestrian and has a unique way with
animals. A member of the United States Pony Club of
America, Olivia participates in horse shows and
barrel races on her quarter horse,
Dash. Her favorite thing to do with
her horse though is going horse-camping with her
friends where she doesnt think twice about
riding up to 20-30 miles in a day! Since she was
six years old she could be seen cantering, bareback
down the Shamrock Ranch hill pasture slopes with
her friends
..one with her horse and the wind
in her hair. Thats been her idea of really
riding since the beginning. She had the priviledge
of being an attendant for her friends 80-year
old grandfather when he rode in the 100 Mile Tevis
Cup Endurance Horse Race as its oldest participant.
Olivias friends have all learned to ride
under her apt instruction for she is skilled at
putting a young rider at ease while guiding them in
their mastery of riding and pony and animal care.
Olivias intuitive connection with animals is
very special and so much of the gentleness,
reliability and patience our ponies and animals
exhibit is in large part to in thanks to
Olivias time and dedication to
them. Susie...Ever
since her mom took her horseback riding on her 7th
birthday, Susie has been in love with horses. Now
16, she still remembers that first ride. She had
gone on a guided trail ride to the beach, and had
absolutely no clue how to ride a horse. During that
ride she had dropped her reigns to where she
couldn't reach them, survived her horse taking off
on the beach, and had been absolutely terrified the
entire time. When she got off her horse however,
the first thing she did was turn to her mom and
say, "hey mom, do you think I could get a horse?".
Susie's actually learned the basics of riding at a
horse camp. After several years of riding she began
taking lessons to polish her horse skills. At the
age of 12, she was teaching and helping at horse
camps. Ever since then she established herself
quite nicely in the equine community. Exercising
people's horses, teaching lessons and camp, and
doing pony parties, are just a few of the "perks"
that come with becoming an accomplished rider. Away
from horses, Susie is also a swimmer, a basketball
coach for her younger sisters basketball team, as
well as a nearly-straight-A
student. JAKE
MONTZ...Jake is a 15 year old high school
student who will be spending his second summer with
Friendly Pony Parties and Barnyard Pals Summer
Camp. Jake has had lots of farm experience working
on his cousin's farm in Ireland helping with the
lambing season over the years, so Summer Camp came
easily for him. In addition to helping with the
kids and animals, Jake serves as camp photographer
taking pictures of the kids with their favorite
pony and animals. Jake also works in the pony
business with Terry throughout the school year.
REBEKAH
MONTZ...Rebekah is a 13 year old who is also
spending her second summer with Friendl Pony
Parties and Barnyard Pals Summer Camp. She had
experience on her uncles' farm in Ireland working
with sheep, lambs, cattle and working dogs before
starting with Terry last summer. She loves working
with the kids and animals and enjoys the
opportunity to be outside on those beautiful summer
days in Half Moon Bay. She also compiles Jake's
pictures into a fun power point presentation that
she shows the kids on the last day of camp. Rebecca
also works in the pony business with Terry on the
weekends during the school year. Both Jake and
Rebekah have traveled extensively both in the
United States and internationally and bring a good
deal of enthusiasm, intelligence and humor in
dealing with the children in our camps. CAREME
YEUNG...Careme is a 13 year old who started 3
years ago as a camper. She returned the following
year as a counselor. Ever since her mom took her
riding at the age of 3, her love for horses
started. She constantly begged her mom to take her
to riding lessons, but due to her many
outer-curricular activities, that wish cannot be
granted. Finally, at 10, her mother asked her if
she wanted to go to pony camp that she found in a
magazine. She happily signed up for it. She enjoyed
the week of camp greatly. There, she also bought a
black and white buck (male bunny), whom she named
Yukinko and who is now a dear friend to
her. Jaden
Rhodes Cory Rhodes
Holly
Stotts |