Camp Marshall-Worcester County 4-H Center Inc

Love camp marshall!
I have attended several of the events held at the camp (horse shows, fun days, etc) and I have had a great time at all of them.
Jean, the camp director, is amazing. She puts her heart and sole into that place and it truly shows!
I cant wait for this summers events!

My daughter came home with a bad skin infection from this camp. I figured it was something in their lake as she did not stay over night. I called and left them a message asking them to return my call. I wanted to know if the lake was tested on a regular basis and where I could find information on test results. They never returned my call. I never sent my daughter there again.

Unfortunately I can’t think of one positive thing to say about this camp. Other people I’ve talked to said it wasn’t great and they no longer send their kids. My daughter really wanted to go so we gave it a try.
We were in a major heat wave all week so afternoon horse activities were cancelled. I had paid $ 600 for her to go to horse camp. Although it’s completely understandable that the horses can’t be ridden when the heat is oppressive, it is July, therefore very likely to have days that are too hot to ride. The problem is, this left a window of time each afternoon that needed to be filled with horsemanship activities. Unfortunately, none were planned. Parents received Facebook messages saying the schedule would have to be changed due to the heat and the campers would be doing waterfront activities and staying cool and hydrated. When I got to camp this morning to pick my daughter up, I got a different story from her, her cabin mates, and two counselors. Part of afternoon «horsemanship» activities was cleaning manure from the boarders’ horse paddocks. Apparently they did this for an hour each afternoon, for three days, in 90 degree weather until one of the counselors put a stop to it. Camp counselors supervised the «activity» from the shade. I paid $ 600 for my daughter to provide them with free labor. Although a backup plan would have been appropriate, even without one, they could’ve come up with fun horse related activities to replace their lost riding time. Horse bathing demonstrations? Trail ride to the lake to get riders and horses cooled off? Games? Not cleaning horse manure out of other people’s paddocks in 90 degree weather, required to wear a riding helmet while they worked.

Additionally, some of the staff, including the nurse, were rude and unwelcoming, the food was lacking, and the facilities are in terrible condition.
At the end of the last day of camp, they hold a closing ceremony. This is where the campers get awards. I stood there with my daughter for 30 minutes watching and clapping for each child as they got awards such as «most energetic swimmer» and «best patience with beads». I assumed the horse campers awards would be last (They have both traditional and horse camp at the same time.) There wasn’t one mention of a horse camper, no riding instructors even present. This was a pretty sad way to end a long, hot, expensive, tiring week.
I won’t be sending my daughter to Camp Marshall next year.