Youth members of the riding association Poptaruters from Dronrijp in Friesland have been going to Zwiggelte for 25 years. But this year the outing will be canceled. The board of the pony club fears for the safety of the participants and their ponies. Reason: the number of wolves in the region is growing.
The association does not want to run the risk of encountering a wolf. “The children are on horses and horses are flight animals. You will only encounter one and the ponies all flee.”
It is a big disappointment for the children who were supposed to go to camp. “That is very sad. My daughter was coming along for the first time, she had to cry a lot,” said Bosma.
Last year, the association made an adjustment so that the camp could continue. They made the area they were going to smaller. “It was still safe there. We drove there.”
Now, according to the chairman, that is no longer possible. Another destination is also not an option for the Poptaruters. “Our connections are in Drenthe. The facilities are all there and through our contacts we can keep prices low. We know what we have in each other, there is a bond of trust. That has been going very well for 25 years.”
The association hopes to be able to organize something different this year. “We’re going to see if we can set up activities in the riding school.”
It is still uncertain how the camp will fare in the future. “We would like to offer a pony camp. We cannot do that in another place now, but that does not mean that it will not be different in the future.”