Double J Riding Club Camps

Double J Riding Club Camps include activities such as a 45 minute entry level riding lesson, horsemanship lessons, and riding games like gymkhana day, keyhole, relay races on horseback, flag race, egg and spoon, hot potato, and musical horses. Campers learn about horses and farm animals, interact with and care for them, learn about horse and farm safety, and practice grooming and tacking, including hands-on grooming and tacking stations and advanced horse lessons covering different horse feedings, tack, first aid, clipping, and lunging. Camps also include science experiments, art projects, crafts, games, scavenger hunts, farm trivia, bingo, creating a photo board, a Friday Farm Tour, feeding snacks to animals, searching for eggs in the chicken coop, visiting sheep and 50 year old tortoises, coaxing pigs out of Piggy Palace, feeling the tip of a horse’s nose, making and feeding homemade horse cookies, finger painting and giving a horse a bath, learning parts of a horse while finger painting and bathing a horse, and meeting up close all the animals on the farm. Program options named in the offerings include Junior Half Day Camp, Animal Adventure Camp, Horse Camp, Horsemanship 101, Farmhand 101, and Tiny Animal Adventures, along with riding lessons, farm classes, scout badge programs, community group field trips, birthday parties, craft workshops, and homeschool courses.

• Ages: 5–16 years old
• Schedule: Single Day Horse Camps offered in spring, fall, and winter; week-long Horse Camps offered in 4-day (Monday–Thursday) or 5-day (Monday–Friday) summer sessions; Intermediate and Advance Horse Camps run Monday–Friday as 5-hour day camps; before care is available from 8:00 a.m. until camp start time and after care from camp end time until 5:00 p.m.
• Price: Single Day Horse Camp $120 per day; 4-day Week Long Horse Camps $495 per week; 5-day Week Long Horse Camps $590 per week; Intermediate and Advance Horse Camps $575 per week; before and after care $7 per hour

The program’s mission statement says Double J Riding Club is committed to offering safe, educational and enjoyable classes both on and off the horse, and that it focuses on watching confidence grow through relationships with horses and other animals, sharing the farm with families, horse and animal lovers and kids of all ages, letting students experience up close and personal relationships with animals, allowing people to discover and explore their passions, and fostering respect for the natural world. The camps are described as having groups of up to 7 campers, with campers grouped first by friends or family and then by age, and before and after care includes low-key activities such as free play, board games, puzzles, art projects, movies and more. Families are asked to pack a lunch, snack, and refillable water bottle, send a change of clothes, and provide a shoe with a heel such as a rain boot, hiking boot, snow boot, or fall leather boot for the riding portion, with the option to bring a separate closed-toe shoe for other activities.

The leadership team includes Cindy Johnson (Owner), Haley Johnson (Riding Instructor, Event Coordinator & IEA Coach), Kathy Jachymczyk (Riding Instructor & Show Team Coach), Ryan Cunningham (Education Program Director), Sara Parks (Riding Instructor), Lisa Ostrego (Early Childhood Instructor), Brett Graves (Animal Outreach Coordinator), Grace Seter (Farm House Instructor), and Natalie Connolly (Head of Horticulture). Staff credentials listed include Haley Johnson, a Purdue University graduate in Hospitality and Tourism Management who has been riding for over 20 years; Kathy Jachymczyk, who has been riding for most of her life, teaching for over 10 years, is an avid Eventer, and has been a USEA member since 1999; Ryan Cunningham, who graduated from Lewis University with a degree in Environmental Science and Ecology and has field research experience in prairie and marine settings; Lisa Ostrego, who holds a B.A. in Environmental Biology, an M.S. in Biology, and a Graduate Certificate in Zoo and Aquarium Studies and has over 18 years of experience in informal environmental education; Brett Graves, who has worked in the environmental science field since 2010 and holds a degree in Recreation Management and Environmental Studies; and Natalie Connolly, who holds credentials in Sustainable Urban Horticulture, Agriculture, and Environmental Justice from Daley College and the Chicago Botanic Garden/Windy City Harvest. Credentials and awards listed for instructor Kathy Jachymczyk include a 2022 USDF bronze medal on OTTB Sock Monkey, 2022 ECP level 1 certification, multiple USEA medals at beginner novice and novice levels on horses Sock Monkey and Airborne Theory, participation in the AEC every year since 2018 with specific placings and TIP awards in 2019 and 2021, and several Area 4 USEA awards including 2018 beginner novice horse of the year and 2018 beginner novice Area 4 Champion.

Testimonials from parents and group leaders describe Jr. Farmers Camp weeks with a new subject focus that include reading a story, doing crafts and science experiments, playing games, making homemade treats for the animals, feeding and visiting animals, and ending each day with a horse riding lesson, as well as birthday parties with many animals and guides who are described as informative and engaged with the kids. Other testimonials mention children riding at the facility for over a year, learning a lot, and being encouraged to be hands-on in the barn, and note a variety of skilled trainers, many horses for all levels of riding, and events throughout the year. A troop leader’s testimonial describes a scout outing where all the girls participated in every activity, enjoyed the program, and worked with an instructor named Megan.

Last updated January 8, 2026.