Staff Spotlight: Alex Loop

Alex Loop is a Camp Mason summer camp legend – just ask any of our summer staff. She is a long time Diamond M Ranch camper and counselor, and her passion for the program is contagious. Talking about camp with Alex was so much fun that for a brief moment it almost could’ve been mid-July when the summer is in full swing! She is a true advocate for the benefits of riding horses and working as a team to care for them at summer camp. For anyone who is even thinking about signing up for Ranch next summer, this interview is a must-read.


How long have you been coming to Camp Mason? 

Seven years as a camper and three as a staff member. Every year I’ve been a ranch camper or counselor. I found about Camp Mason from a brochure at my Y, I saw there was a ranch program and that’s why I signed up.

Why do you keep coming back?

Working with kids as a counselor is really rewarding, the kids look up to you and it’s an honor to be a role model for them. It’s the coolest job you’ll ever have. You work hard every day but it’s so worth it. As a kid, I remember my first year really well; it stands out in my memory. The other years as a camper kind of blur together but because every year was cool and I always liked it. I went to other programs too but this was the one I kept coming back to.

What makes the Ranch Program special?

The teachers. I still remember all of the counselors I had for all my riding lessons. Throughout the years some things change but it’s still always fun every year. Mason’s ranch program is special because the Ranch counselors live in cabin with the ranch campers and so everyone is really close. You don’t get that community in other horse riding lessons. You know everyone really well and at the end of the session you feel really sad to leave your group.

The neckerchief program has got to be plugged. It gets intense and you have to know a lot. The knowledge I learned is really setting you up to have a horse and care for it. I felt ready to care for my horse when I got to go for the blue neckerchief as a camper.

(The neckerchief program is a series of levels that campers and staff can achieve within the Ranch program. Those trying for each level take the time to learn new skills, study and then take a test to pass each level. The neckerchiefs themselves are presented in front of the whole camp on the last day of each session).

If you had to sum up camp in one sentence what would you say?

It’s tricky because Ranch is more than summer camp, it’s more than one thing. I want to say something about horses and people becoming a family. “Ranch is different to main camp because the horses allow the people who work with them to become their own close knit, community.”

What is your favorite evening activity?

Ragnarok or Stones for sure. First of all, there are less bugs on the field than running through the woods like we do for other games. And I love those two games. It’s crazy out there and I always end up on an underdog team to help out and even then it’s so fun. I get competitive and really into it. I like that everyone gets to play together because it’s an all-camp activity, that’s cool.

Finally, the most important question: grilled cheese or tacos?

Both are salad days, am I right? Once my cabin started chanting, ‘Bring back grilled cheese!’ which was crazy but dedicated you know. Thinking about it some more, I can’t choose, I think I’m just going to have a salad.