WELCOME TO KIAH PARK
Whether your child is new to horses or an experienced rider our camps are designed for everyone.
Kiah Park was established in 1978 and is one of Queensland’s leading horse riding facilities, specialising in horse riding holidays for children.
Our focus is on horse riding, but there is also so much more. Kiah Park is a home-away-from-home where your child can develop independence, learn new skills and make lifelong friendships with other horse-loving children.
Our horse riding camps engage school-aged children in the wholesome experience of spending time outdoors.
Offering 7 Day horse riding camps during all Queensland school holidays, as well as shorter camps over long weekends throughout the year, it’s an ideal place for kids who love animals.
We follow an active and busy schedule providing your child with a great range of outdoor fun, including learning to care for their horse, arena lessons, trail rides, challenge team activities, camp fires with sausage and damper roasting, and a gymkhana as the climax of the week.
Kids don’t need any previous horse riding experience to enjoy a wonderful time at Kiah Park as lessons are incorporated into the program for new riders and they are allocated a horse to suit their riding ability.
Kiah Park is owned and operated by Laine and Jodi Keough with the help of their kids who focus on creating a safe, fun, family environment to ensure the campers have the ultimate experience.
Kiah Park… enjoy the country ride!
2024 CAMPS
7DAY CAMPS
SENIORS CAMP For Students 14 to 18 yrs who can canter well with control
11am, Saturday, November 30 to 7am, Saturday, December 7
WEEK ONE 7 Day Summer Camp BOOKED OUT
WEEK Two 7 Day Summer Camp For kids aged 6 to 16 yrs. All riding abilities welcome.
11am, Saturday, December 14 to 7am, Saturday, December 21
JANUARY- 6 DAY CAMP
11am Saturday 18th of January to 3:00pm Thursday the 23rd of January.
Ages 6 to 16 yrs – All Abilities
Cost for all Summer camps: 1475 [All activities, standard menu meals & accomodation included]
JANUARY TRAIL RIDES
For Adults and Kids (8 yrs +)
* 2:30pm to 5:30pm, Thursday 16th of January
* 8:00am to 11am, Friday 17th of January
New Year Special
Cost 185
HOW DO I BOOK A CAMP?
Go to the BOOKINGS tab and select BOOK CAMP from the drop down selection- you will select your child’s age range, the duration of the camp, the camp date and riding ability. If it says ‘out of stock’ that means that particular camp is booked out for that level of rider. You will continue on to complete your registration form and medical information. After you have completed this section you can check out OR notice the pop up window which prompts you to select your ADD ONS you can also go to ‘Continue Shopping’ (option at the top) go back to BOOKINGS and then go onto select CAMP ADD ONS- here you can purchase a seat on the bus, a special diet, extra riding lessons and a photo package. You will simply need to enter your Child’s name and order number if known.
There are camps every school holiday block and they tend to book our quickly so choose your ideal camp date and secure your spot today! If you haven’t already… please join us on facebook for all the latest news.
PLAN YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE AT KIAH PARK
7 DAY CAMPS
Kiah Park horse riding camp was was established in 1978. The property itself is 315 acres of beautiful, varying country situated 20km east of Gympie and 160km north of Brisbane. Visitors can enjoy the peaceful farm surroundings with horses, other farm animals and new friends.Includes accommodation with adult supervision and great meals. Children adopt a horse to enjoy for the week and activities include arena lessons, trail rides twice a day, learning how to keep and care for a pony/horse, gymkhana, animal feeding, collecting chook eggs, cow milking and fun night activities.
Our 7 Day Riding Camps are the core of our business and are held every school holidays, from 11am Saturday to the 7am the following Saturday. Kiah Park Horse Riding Camp is fully catered, has full insurance, qualified Instructors and 24 hour care. Kids ages aged 6 yrs to 16 yrs, of all riding abilities are welcome to attend. For the safety of our riders and health of our horses we have a safety weight restriction of 80kg.
BOOKINGS
We have an online booking system, just like booking a flight you book and pay online for your Kiah Park experience. Do not make a direct transfer to the Kiah Park account- this will not secure your booking, you must book and pay through the website. The current price for 7 Day camps is 1475. Prices may change at any time however the current price will be updated on the this home page. Kiah Park horse riding camps remain by far the most affordable horse riding experience of its calibre in Australia.
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- Photo package 85 (70 photo snap package, 15 USB stick)
- Bus Fare 55
- Boot Hire 20
- Extra riding lesson/ Horsemanship 45
- Jumping lessons 45 (Jumping lessons are for kids cantering well. If you book a jumping lesson and your child can not canter they will do a riding lesson focussing on areas they could improve in)
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FUNDING
Families who are eligible for funding must book and pay online and be reimbursed by their provider.
Kiah Park Horse riding camps assist in the development of life skills with a focus on horse riding combined with a variety of outdoor activity and education. While continually developing independence, participants build on old friendships and establish new positive relationships with fellow campers each time they attend the Kiah Kids Camp program.
TRANSPORT
Kiah Park Horse Riding Camp hire a bus and pick up from Brisbane and different points up the coast. The bus fare for camps is $55. There are a limited number of seats available each camp so please book in early. Do you have a travel plan ‘if’ your child needs to go home during camp due to example; sickness, set home for bad behaviour or any other unforeseen circumstance? Please have a plan in place.
ACCOMMODATION
Our cabins are located along the ridge overlooking beautiful scenery. There are seperate boys and girls cabins with their own hot showers and toilets. All cabins have double bunks and mattresses. At least one Kiah staff member sleeps in the cabins with the children and assists in each cabin.
Children are required to care for their belongings and keep their cabins tidy. Let us know on your booking form if your child would like to share a cabin with a friend that is also attending camp.
SUPERVISION
We employ at minimum one Kiah Staff for every six children booked in to camp; the leaders are female and hold their blue cards. Leaders sleep in the cabins with the children and are available to support the kids if needed throughout the night. Owners live on site and are involved in the running and supervision of the camp.
BEHAVIOUR
Children with behavioural problems are a risk to other campers and parents are required to ensure that their children understand and are able to respect the rights of others with regard to safety of persons and property, manners and privacy. If a child disrespects rules, staff and/ or fellow campers they will receive a warning, the family will be notified and the child will be asked to leave camp if the disrespectful behaviour continues. It will be the responsibility of the parent to pick up their child in this instance. No refunds are offered to families whose child was ask to leave camp.
DRESS CODE
Children must wear long trousers to ride in, ideally western jeans, jodhpurs or riding tights. Ideally kids will wear long sleeve collared shirts which we have available for purchase at Kiah Park or you can find extremely affordable options elsewhere including op shops. At minimum children MUST wear a collared shirt with a short sleeve. We will not allow the kids to participate in day time camp activities without the appropriate Sun Smart clothing. We have polo shirts available for purchase at the Kiah Park shop and once again there are also plenty of affordable options elsewhere. We do ask that the kids avoid packing solid red shirts for camp. Red is our staff colour and it is an amazing visual for kids to easily find staff and for staff also to see clearly where staff are at all times. Hair is to be neatly tied back throughout the day. With the same rules applying to our staff, we encourage children to leave all jewelry safe at home. Single ear piercings only and a watch are permitted. Please ensure children have removed all jewelry beyond single ear piercings and a watch prior to camp. Thank you for respecting these guidelines.
CANTEEN
Campers are not permitted to bring any food/ snacks to camp. The canteen is open in the morning and afternoon and sells drinks, chips, chocolates, ice blocks, lollies and snacks including gluten free options. All wallets are locked away in the office for safe keeping.
PHONE CALLS
To minimise disruption to the camp routine, and how settled the kids are in camp please keep calls to our landline to a minimum or emergencies. We offer a complete device detox for kids. Kids are not permitted to bring mobile phones (or any devices) but rather we will allow them to use our land line to call home if they wish.
If you really would love to speak to your child, you may try and call our landline 07 5486 6166 between 12:15pm and 1:45pm. If you have tried to call at in this time frame and can’t get through, you are welcome to send an email and we can arrange for your child to call you. Rest assured that we will contact you if there are any problems. Again, we do encourage phone calls to a complete minimum as the kids tend to thrive and remain settled without the constant contact from home, however we want you to know that we can easily arrange for your child to call home if you need to speak with them and you can’t get through on the land line. Remember to simply email [email protected] for a return call.
DINING
We have a large dining area where all campers meet for meals. Our menu is child friendly including meals such as Spaghetti Bolognese, Burritos, Lasagne, Chicken Nuggets. Please let us know if your child has any special dietary needs, as we will happily cater for them. There is a surcharge of $140 for special diet catering.
CAMP RULES
Safety is our first priority, closely followed by as much fun as possible. To ensure a happy and enjoyable camp for all we have established a set of rules to which we expect our campers to adhere. These will be explained to campers on day of arrival. Please note any breakages must be paid for.
FUN COMPETITIONS
At the end of camp we present various awards including:
The Best Camp Kid whom is chosen on behaviour, manners, attitude, cooperation and enthusiasm throughout the week.
Dressed to impress! We acknowledge our best dressed riders on Gymkhana day as well as the effort they put into present their horse. We strongly encourage kids to wear their best riding attire on Gymkhana day wether they have a Western or English style.
On Gymkhana day we split the kids up into riding ability groups and all campers have opportunity to win a ribbon over the course of the morning as they compete in different events. At Kiah Park Gymkhana the focus and judging is based on horsemanship not speed.
We introduced the LJ Keough and Co Horsemanship Award in 2020. We wanted to reward the person who demonstrates the best horsemanship skills over the camp period. The recipient of this award will be one of the most advanced riders of the camp group, who has a kind approach to horsemanship and listens and takes on board all instruction. This award is something for all camp kids to aspire to achieve. We treat this award quiet seriously combining feedback from all instructors before making the final decision.
CAMP ROUTINE
We have a structured camp programme however due to weather we may shuffle the programme a little, we also may add something new! On Saturday the kids are introduced to Kiah Park with a focus on safety, horsemanship introduction and the arena assessment to find the most suitable horse for each child based on their ability, size and personality… of horse and rider!
8:00am: Lesson Horses are saddled up
8:30am: Arena Lesson, other riders Saddle up
9:30am: Morning Tea & Canteen
10:00am: Gear check & Mount up
10.30am: Trail Ride/Activities for lesson riders
12:00pm: Ride back to camp, Untack & groom
12:30pm: Lunch
1:00pm: Structured activity or free time
2:00pm: Lesson Horses are saddled up
2:30pm: Arena Lesson, other riders saddle up
3:00pm: Afternoon tea & canteen
3.30pm: Trail ride/activities for lesson riders
5:00pm: Ride back to camp, Untack & groom
5.30pm: Feed animals, let horses out, showers, prepare for dinner
9:00pm: Lights Out
Traditionally on Tuesday we have damper and sausages by the dam to follow, the survivor challenges on Thursday afternoons and we wrap up the week with the gymkhana on the Friday. Our shorter camps will focus on having morning and afternoon rides each day.
UPCOMING CAMP DATES
We run camps every school holiday block.
OPEN for bookings!
Our 2024 Winter School Holiday Camps are open for bookings.
7DAY CAMPS
11am, Saturday, June 22 to 7am, Saturday, June 29
11am, Saturday, June 29 to 7am, Saturday, July 6
* There is a bus service available to and from camp.
WEEKEND HORSE RIDING CAMPS
A compact and fun-filled weekend away. Full accommodation and nourishing meals are provided. Activities focus around horse care, lessons, riding and a fun gymkhana plus lots to keep the children busy and happy in between.
UPCOMING WEEKEND CAMP
We do not currently have and weekend camps scheduled so please consider our 7 Day camps.
The long weekend camp certainly isn’t long enough for some who just want to stay a little longer…. but it’s the perfect length of time for the kids (or parents) who aren’t quite ready for the full 7-day camp.
TRAIL RIDES
The Country Ride
CURRENT TRAIL RIDES
We do not have scheduled trail rides, however if you have a private group interested in a Country Ride… we may be able to create a special day just for you.
Arena Assessment
Before we ride out and enjoy the beautiful scenery Kiah Park has to offer, all participants will ride in the arena first so our instructors can assess your riding ability and if you suit the horse you have been allocated. Those who can competently trot or canter may do so on trail, if the instructor permits. Beginner riders will stay at a walk for the trail.
Morning/ Afternoon Tea
After the arena assessment there is time for a cuppa, a bite of morning tea and toilet break.
Trail Ride
Time to enjoy the Country Ride!
To enquire or book your trail ride the first step is to email [email protected]
(You will be required to go to Bookings and then click on the Horsemanship Lessons which takes you to a page where you can complete your rider information.)
If you have a group of 8 family and friends who would like to escape the hustle and bustle and experience The Country Ride at Kiah, we can take private group bookings and will try to find a date that especially suits your group.
SCHOOL CAMPS
& SCHOOL DAY TRIPS
A programme can be tailored to suit your group.
For more information email: [email protected]
SEE WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING…
This place is seriously amazing! Kiah Park is fabulous – whether you’ve never ridden a horse or compete regularly. The Senior’s camp was amazing. I was the youngest kid at camp, but everyone was super nice and always looked out for me. It was wonderful fun, and I seriously recommend it to all horse-crazy kids.
My daughters, 10 and 12 went to Kiah park for the 1st week of the winter holidays. They absolutely loved it – even though they have their own horse they really enjoyed riding and getting to know different horses. It only adds to their horsemanship confidence. Their days were well planned and action packed – they slept and ate well. Actually they loved the meals. They made friends easily and really liked the supervisors. This is the first time my kids have been to an out of school camp – however I was more relaxed about them going as we knew many other kids that have been there numerous times. Mine will definitely be going back!
The time I spend at Kiah Park is always such well-spent time. The week is filled with amazing oppurtunities and activities that everyone thoroughly enjoys and can participate in. This is the most amazing camp that quite literally changes your life. The food is also wonderful, and the horses are well-trained. The supervisors are some amazing people who just make the camp run perfectly.