Most of our students have no previous riding experience before arriving at Thacher’s barns. Members of the Horse Department know this and spend much of the fall patiently teaching the skills needed to care for horses and to ride effectively. By the end of the year, students are astounded at the level of horsemanship that possess from a year of hard work and discipline at the barns every afternoon. Students do not bring their own horses; we provide school-owned horse (we have about 120). Thacher’s Western-based horse program is unique to other boarding schools, and for many students it presents both the biggest challenge and the most meaningful success during their Thacher careers.

Thacher’s camping trips are often the most memorable moments of students’ lives here. As with the Horse Program, most students arrive with very little real camping experience. Ninth graders are introduced gently to camping, beginning with a four-day trip to Thacher’s High Sierra encampment in the Golden Trout Wilderness. There, they learn the basics of camping from what to bring and what to leave at home to building shelter, from lighting stoves and fires to preparing a meal in the backcountry, as well as reading maps and compasses. A lot of time focuses on teaching impact-free camping and responsible backcountry behavior. With each successive camping trip, students grow more confident and more skilled, until they, themselves, are helping to lead trips as juniors and seniors. As students become more confident and experienced, they are able to choose from a wide variety of trips each fall and spring including horsepacking, kayaking, and backpacking. Trips range from “easy” to “moderate” to “challenging;” students choose trips that suit their comfort levels. By the end of four years, Thacher students are competent, confident, and competent in the wilderness.

We offer every kind of camping trip imaginable, from climbing Mount Whitney at 12,000 feet to kayaking on Lake Mead, from horse camping in the Sespe Wilderness to moderate or strenuous backpacking trips in a wide variety of wilderness locales. There is something for every level of camper.