SANDPOINT — Riding horses for at least five hours a day, for five days straight, you would think 4-H Horse Camp youth would have been exhausted by Friday.

On the contrary, the kids were out at 8 a.m., ready for a final day of clinics before their big drill team performance Friday night.

“This is what they work all week for,” Adrienne Nelson, horse camp committee member, said of the performance that included seven groups of kids and horses, decked out in costumes and riding to the music.

The 83 riders and more than 100 horses spent a full week of learning riding, teamwork and performance skills, as well as strengthening the bond between the horses and their riders. The attendance at this years camp was higher than it has been over the past few years, Nelson said, with 20 families new to the experience. The camp is for 4-H youth ages 8-18, held at the Bonner County Fairgrounds.

This year’s camp included clinics in western, jumping, dressage, gaming, vaulting, horse yoga and more.

“Our goal is to expose our 4-H kids to as many different things they can do on their horses as possible,” Nelson said. “... You will start with kids who are scared to trot, but by the end of the week, they are loping a pattern to music with a team that’s choreographed — it’s pretty amazing to watch.”

The kids also get experiences off of the horses. A leather crafting instructor, for example, who helped the kids make reins for their horses last year, returned this year and taught the 4-H’ers to make belts.

Some of the instructors come from as far away as Walla Walla, Wash., Nelson said, and this year included four junior clinicians who are former participants of the camp and 4-H program. The four young ladies have since graduated high school, and all are either current or past rodeo royalty. Nelson said another young man, who is farrier now, came back with his equipment and gave the kids an “inspiring” talk.

“It has really been a really cool camp with everything we have been able to expose them to,” she said.

While the week-long camp culminated in the drill team performances Friday night, the local Horse Leader’s Council is hosting a Turn ‘N’ Burn fundraiser today at the fairgrounds.

The third annual event includes a fun-filled day of horse gaming for the whole family, with the proceeds supporting the Bonner County 4-H horse program by providing scholarships to the camp, clinics and horse shows, and they also provide each of the kids with a drill team photo, Nelson said.

Register for the Turn ‘N’ Burn in person this morning between 8:30-9:30 a.m. Games start at 10 a.m. and include figure 8, keyhole, half 8, flag race and barrel racing.

The entry fee for all five games is $25. Add novice for an additional $10, or $15 if not competing in age group. Multi-family member discounts available.

Information: bonnercountyfair.com/events

Mary Malone can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.