Experience Agriculture this Summer with Horses, Goats, and Doug the Donkey: ‘Miner Farms’ Offers Camps for Kids and Teens

Doug the Donkey greets Christine Miner, owner of Miner Farms.

Located just half-a-mile away from the Whitehead Museum down Alderete Lane is Miner Farms, also known as 14 Hand Ranch for its additional rearing of horses on the same 1.5 acre plot of land. Owned and operated by Christine Miner, who has a degree in agriculture education, Miner Farms has gained a reputation for providing supervised agricultural experiences to young Del Rioans by sponsoring the Agriculture Club of Del Rio High School and hosting regular events that welcome families to visit the farm.

This summer break, Miner Farms will run three kinds of week-long day-camps. Each kind will teach a different scope and level of agriculture. Along with the horses, campers can expect to make friends with the many different animals being raised at Miner Farms including goats, chickens, rabbits, turkeys, ducks, and a lone miniature donkey named Doug. 

The Camps:

 ‘Farm Camp’ is for children Pre-K to 5th grade, and will cover lessons over animal care, life skills, gardening, and include crafting sessions. Farm Camp costs $200 to register for one week, and will run two separate weeks: June 9-13 and July 7-11. Camp days are 8-10AM.

You can register for Farm Camp by clicking here.

‘Ranch Hand Camp’ is for adolescents 6th to 12th grade, and will cover more advanced lessons over animal care, gardening, tool use and care, and involve project work. Described as particularly hands-on and educational by Christine Miner herself, Ranch Hand Camp costs $300 to register for one week. Two separate weeks of this camp will also be offered: June 23-27 and July 21-25. Camp days are 8-11AM. 

You can register for Ranch Hand Camp by clicking here.

‘Horsemanship Camp’ is all about horses, and designed for children Pre-K to 6th grade. From grooming, to safety, to riding, campers will get to know 14 Hand Ranch’s four friendly horses: Whisper, Storm, Blackjack, and Corona. Horsemanship Camp costs $200 for one week’s registration, two separate weeks are offered: June 16-20 and July 14-18. Camp days are 8-10AM.

You can register for Horsemanship Camp by clicking here.

Christine introduces Storm, one of 14 Hand Ranch's four horses.

The Story:

"We started with eight chickens," says Christine Miner to Connect Del Rio, telling the story of Miner Farms.

In 2016, Christine got a call from Southwest Texas College and was asked to sponsor a group of students who wished to attend a wildlife workshop in Uvalde but didn't have an agriculture professor on-site, so she agreed to step in. Through this experience, Christine was moved by the interest in agriculture she saw in those students. So moved, she decided to start a farm.

"Once I figured out that there were kids who wanted to [learn agriculture], we started the farm. So we got our first set of chickens in May 2016," Christine recounts. "Eight chickens, and it grew into all of this."

Christine Miner has had her mind set on the farming lifestyle since childhood. Her parents were not farmers nor ranchers — they were teachers in the city. She says she wanted to learn more about agriculture as a kid but there weren't any educational resources she knew to connect to. But once she left the house of her parents, she went all-in on agriculture.

"I went to college and I studied 'ag'. My degree is in agriculture education. So I can teach an FFA [Future Farmers of America] program from the ground up, but we don't have one here [in Del Rio]," Christine explains, noting the gap in career education programs offered in Del Rio's schools. Christine says she intends to begin to fill that gap with her farm.

"The whole reason we have the farm is to give our Agriculture Club kids and our little kids a real hands-on approach to agriculture." Sharing examples of the kinds of lessons her mentees have learned from her, Christine lists, "They've learned how to manage the dirt, they learned how to soil type!" which means to figure the kind of soil one is working with, and transform it as needed. "They learned how to prune trees properly, they learned how to plant ID, so they can identify the kinds of native plants out here [...] This is something I think has a good purpose and is a huge benefit to our community."

These lessons, and more, are the kinds offered at Miner Farms' camps this Summer. And beyond summer 2025, Christine Miner intends to continue bringing her expertise to Del Rio's young farmers-in-the-making.

For more info about Miner Farms, you can visit their Facebook page, or their website.