Junior Skills Camps

Improve your child’s riding @ Horseshoe Resort!

Book August 15th, 2015 Now!

Ride Overview

The Ride Guides Junior Skills Camp will focus on mountain biking skills, trail stewardship, teamwork, exercise, and ultimately having fun. Riders will spend the day with us at Horseshoe Resort, learning and thriving in a safe fun environment. Horseshoe Resort is the perfect learning environment with everything we need to enhance your child’s riding skill right at our fingertips. Remember, there is no need to pack a lunch as we have that covered.

Our Junior Skills Camp will give your kids confidence and the proper technique to keep them safe on the trails this season. Our Instructors will start with the fundamentals and build on them throughout the day, progressing into some more advance skills like log crossings, teeter-totters, skinnies and wheel lifts. Each rider will get individual attention and have the opportunity to progress within their comfort levels. It is all about building confidence. Best of all your little “groms” will meet and make friends with other kids who have a passion for pedaling.

Our Junior Skills Camps are taught in a group format which also helps to promote comradery within the group of riders. Junior Skills Camps can also be booked outside of the scheduled dates for groups of 4 or more riders.

If you are over the age of 16 (as of December 31st, 2015), please check out our Skills Boot Camps held at Buckwallow Cycling Centre in Gravenhurst, Ontario. Click Here for more details.

Ride Pricing & Scheduling

Scheduling

We are currently taking registrations for the following Junior Skills Camp guaranteed dates:
For custom scheduling, the season for riding at Horseshoe Resort can change drastically from year to year. Our Primary Riding Season occurs between the months of May and October. This Junior Skills Camp can be booked anytime, weekday or weekend throughout the Primary riding season so that no matter when you and your group are here, we will be able to accommodate you.
  • Camp Duration: 6 Hours
  • Camp Times: 9:00am – 3:00pm

Pricing

$95.00

  • Price is Per Person (CDN) + Taxes
  • Course is guaranteed to run

Testimonials

“The skills camp was EXCELLENT! We were able to come away with a solid understanding of the skills that were emphasized. I attribute this to the knowledge and teaching ability of the instructors and course format. Providing an off-trail environment to explain the skills, demonstrate the skills and then have the students attempt the skills while being critiqued was a low pressure way for us to be introduced to these new skills. Then being able to go onto the trail and apply what we learned while still being critiqued, solidified the skills in our minds.”
Steve M.
“On Saturday July 5th we had a fantastic day at the Ride Guides Skills Boot Camp at Buckwallow. Matt, Sara and Tim were awesome! There were great explanations and demos of MTB skills which we practiced off-trail and then we got to use them on the trails. We were challenged to try trail features we would never have considered before and we did them! The whole day was well-organized, lunch was great, trails were fun. I think everyone really enjoyed the day. On the trip home, we talked non-stop about the things we accomplished outside of our comfort zones. We highly recommend Ride Guides! Thanks again Matt, Sara and Tim!”
Don K.

Camp Vitals

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Minimum Technical Rating
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Minimum Endurance Rating
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Vertical Feet
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Distance (KM)

Itinerary

You’ll meet your instructors and the group riding with us for the day. After the introductions, we’ll take a quick tour of the facilities and make sure everyone is sorted before we get started. We are going to cover the many different skills required to be successful on a mountain bike and you may learn a few things that you thought you knew… Here is an overview of some of what we will cover:

  • Riding Positions
  • Bike & Body Separation
  • Front, Rear & Combination Wheel Lifts
  • Pedalling Techniques
  • Cornering Techniques
  • and much more…

What To Bring

Your Mountain Bicycle

Making sure you bring a good, high-quality Mountain Bike with you is hugely important to the success of your riding adventure. Riding on safe equipment is paramount and we want to make sure you have a great time out there. For those without a mountain bicycle, or perhaps a sub-standard bicycle, we have a wide selection of affordable, high-end rental bikes available.

We have put together the following recommendations to give you a little guidance towards bike selection. Also, we understand that some people may have different mountain bicycle configurations, such as a single-speed or a fully-rigid and in those cases we ask that you contact us and make us aware of the bicycle type you intend to ride so that we can better advise you of your options. Again, if you have any doubts or questions feel free to reach out – we’ll be glad to help!

  • Your Mountain Bike MUST be in good working order
  • Tires are knobby
  • We recommend you use a bicycle with Disc Brakes
  • You should have a set of FLAT (non-clipless) pedals
  • We recommend you have a suspension fork (80mm-160mm)
  • We recommend at least a 1x front chainring configuration
  • We recommend at least a 5x rear cassette

Riding Equipment

On top of your mountain bike, there are a couple of other items that you will need to bring for your safety. Without these items, you will not ride and that will be sad for everyone. If you don’t possess these items, we can help you out by renting them to you for the duration of your ride:

  • Bicycle Helmet approved by CSA, EN, ASTM, CPSC or Snell B90/B95
  • Water Bottle(s) or Hydration System
  • Protective Eyewear / Glasses
On top of the critical safety items, there are a number of other items we recommend you bring with you if you have them – they will make your experience more enjoyable:
  • Riding Gloves
  • Sunscreen
  • Insect Repellent – This is a MUST!

Tools

One of the advantages of going out with Ride Guides is that you won’t need to worry too much about tools. Our guides will ALWAYS be equipped with EVERYTHING on this list. However, we do understand that some people would rather bring their own tools and that’s fine, but you are more than welcome to use ours:

  • Multi-tool with Allen wrenches
  • Spoke Wrenches
  • Chain Tool
  • Zip Ties
  • 300psi Shraeder Shock Pump
  • Tire Pump (Presta and Shraeder)
  • Tire Levers

Spare Parts

Whenever you are venturing out on a ride, you should always keep spares of parts which are more prone to failure. Here is a list of the spares that we recommend you bring with you on your ride. Remember, if you have a mechanical failure while you are in the bush, it is usually a long and boring walk out:

  • Inner Tubes (2x)
  • Masterlink / Speedlink / Powerlink
  • Derailleur Hanger

Clothing

It is important to make sure that you are dressed appropriately for the weather. Mountain Biking is a strenuous physical activity so you also want to be sure the clothing you are wearing allows for good breathe-ability. when in doubt, dress in layers which can be easily removed and stowed. Some areas of the trail can be prone to poison ivy at different times throughout the season, so you will likely want covering on your lower legs to help prevent exposure. Another key clothing item is padded riding shorts. These shorts can help save your butt from a couple hours of saddle punishment, and we highly recommend them.

If you are bringing your flat pedals, make sure you have good pair of shoes that will promote traction on the flat pedal surface.

Logistics

Departure Point

Unless alternate arrangements have been made, our Skills Boot Camps take off from Horseshoe Resort, 1101 Horseshoe Valley Rd. West – Barrie, Ontario. Your GPS may be wrong, please don’t follow it. Please us the following instructions to successfully locate Buckwallow (From Toronto):

  • Take Hwy 400 North, past the 400/11 Split, north of Barrie
  • Exit Hwy 400 at Horseshoe Valley Rd.
  • Hang a right off the exit ramp and make your way through the town of Craighurst (One Stoplight)
  • Follow Horseshoe Valley Rd. until you head into the Valley
  • Hang right at bottom of valley into Horseshoe Resort
  • Drive all the way into the resort, until you see the Horseshoe Adventure Park & Bike Barn

Departure Time

Please meet promptly at 9:00am, the designated start time, unless you have booked a custom skills camp and requested an alternate start time. When we are done for the day, we will be back at the parking lot and ready to leave at 3:00pm.

Through our network of partners we have access to one serious selection of high-end rental mountain bikes. Whether you are looking for a solid starter bike because it’s your first time out, or you are having carbon 29′er envy, we have got a bike for you. With this kind of selection you don’t need to stress about bringing your rig with you. This also covers all of the other equipment you may need to rent, be it a Helmet, Protective Glasses, Gloves, Lights, Hydration… Just let us know what you need and we’ll be happy to set you up with it! Learn More
Whether it’s by choice or not, we get that people have dietary restrictions. We know that Veggie isn’t Vegan, the jury is out on if Fish is actually meat, and we actually know what Gluten and Tofurky are. What does this mean to you? Well, you can rest assured that our Kitchen Staff will work relentlessly to make sure your dietary requirements are met, your lunch tastes amazing, all while adhering to our sustainability commitments. Just another thing you won’t need to worry about when you are with Ride Guides. Learn More

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