Saddle Up For an Easter Egg Hunt on Horseback

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Our Stewart family’s horseback Easter egg hunt has become a tradition that we have celebrated for the past seven years, ever since we moved to Bear River City.  Easter is one of my favorite holidays and horses are my favorite animal, so it just seemed natural to put them together.

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I tell my adult children, “I don’t care if I have to share you on Christmas and Thanksgiving, but I want you for the Saturday before Easter.”  And they come, sometimes bringing friends or other family members.  Each year it seems our family changes and grows and we plan our Easter egg hunt around those changes.

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To make things more fair for the inexperienced and younger riders, Uncle Steven and I hide the eggs according to color. Each rider has a different color or style of egg.  For instance, last year we had basketball eggs for Kory, purple eggs for Megan, football eggs for Ryan, chicken shaped eggs for Brynna, pink eggs for Janie, and so forth. 

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We’ve been collecting eggs for years, and since we ask everyone to leave their eggs and just take the candy home, we have quite a collection.  Assigning each rider their own color makes it possible for us to hide the eggs according to the rider’s ability.  Uncle Steven especially likes to hide eggs in unusual places- like hanging them from tree branches.

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A few of our family members are experienced riders and we love hiding their eggs in difficult locations- over ditches, in trees, through gates and around obstacles such as wood piles and water hazards. For our lower level riders, we have a rule that you have to be touching some part of your horse when you pick up an egg. This makes it possible for riders with less experience to get off their horse to get an egg.

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Last year we added “jumbo” sized eggs to the hunt and they sure made things more challenging and interesting .

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After the riders find their designated colored eggs, they are allowed to hunt for the prized golden eggs, which hold items like movie tickets, gift certificates and money.

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This is the most exciting part of the hunt, as riders become a little more daring and often find themselves racing for the same golden egg as another rider.

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Last year we had more little ones, so we did a hunt for them before the adult riding hunt began. We have to work the hunt around the weather, so it  usually begins at about 11:00.  Following the hunt, we usually play with the horses, give them their annual vaccinations and worm them, eat barbecue and potato salad and play badminton.

This year we add a new son-in-law and grandson to the mix so we’ll need two more colors of eggs and two more chairs at our Easter table.  And as our family continues to grow and change, so will our Easter Egg hunt.

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As for our horses, they aren’t too fond peanut butter eggs or jelly beans but they do receive their own prizes in the form of carrots, apples and other treats.

Aunt MO

Rules of Chocolate Easter Eggs

If you get melted chocolate all over your hands, you’re eating it too slowly.

If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge.  Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.

Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

Easter Egg Hunt on Horseback!

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The best Easter Egg hunt in the entire universe is held the Saturday before Easter at Canna Bay Farms. Humans of all descriptions gather; greenhorns, cowboys and babies as well of horses of all breeds, colors and training, to find Easter Eggs hidden all over the farm. At our Easter Egg hunt it’s not about the eggs- it’s about the hunt!

To make things fairer for the inexperienced and younger riders, Uncle Steven and I hide the eggs according to color. Each rider has a different color or style of egg. For instance, this year we have basketball eggs for Kory, purple eggs for Megan, football eggs for Ryan, chicken shaped eggs for Brynna, pink eggs for Janie and so forth. We’ve been collecting eggs for years, and since we ask everyone to leave their eggs and just take the candy home, we have quite a collection. Assigning each rider their own color makes it possible for us to hide the eggs according to the rider’s ability.

clip_image004Because Megan, Kory and Janie are experienced riders we hide their eggs in places that are hard to see and difficult to get to, but we hide green horn and children’s eggs in plain sight and in places easy for them to reach.

After the hunters find all of their eggs they are allowed to hunt for the golden eggs that have special prizes in them such as movie tickets, gift certificates and coins. This is the most exciting part of the hunt as riders become a little more daring and often find themselves racing for the same golden egg as another rider. I recently read an article about how to hold a “safe” Easter Egg hunt and although I don’t think our horseback hunt would qualify as “safe” I am happy to report that we have never had an accident- I’m not saying we haven’t come close- but no one has ever been hurt.

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Our most unusual hunt was the year my son, Kory, used the hunt as a means of proposing to his future wife, Janie. We hid her diamond ring in one of the eggs and everyone held their breath as Janie hunted for her eggs. When Janie found the egg the ring was in, I was so afraid the egg would come open, that I finally had to ask her if she wanted me to hold her eggs while she continued searching for more eggs. Of course, Janie said “yes” when Kory popped the question, and they and their 18 month old daughter live “happily ever after” about 5 miles from us.

After all the eggs are found everyone gathers together to open their eggs and discover the goodies and prizes in them. We usually play badminton and eat Sloppy Joes for lunch.

Tips and hints for a successful horseback Easter Egg hunt:

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Because the horses haven’t been ridden much during the winter months they are usually feeling a little frisky for our Easter Egg Hunt. We used to give the riders a plastic shopping bag to put their eggs in but some horses would spook at the crackling noise the bags made so now everyone just wears a hoodie with pockets to put their eggs in.

clip_image002[9]We have hidden as few as six eggs per person and as many as 12. The gold eggs are extra and although we don’t limit how many eggs a person can find, they are pretty good to make sure that everyone finds at least one golden egg.

I always fill extra eggs in case we have an unexpected rider, which happens more often then not.

For more unusual Easter Egg hunt ideas and fun family reunion themes, visit www.familyreunionhelper.com, and check out the “Home for the Holidays” family reunion.

Aunt MO

“If you only have one smile give it to the people you love."