What a wonderful afternoon we had a few weeks ago for my daughter’s 11th birthday. Last year she had her first ever birthday party, which was a spectacular Vintage Rainbow theme. This year, with a bit of encouragement from Mama Bear, she chose to have a horse party. She is animal crazy, and I love the idea of a rustic horse theme. Of course, to make it authentic, we needed to find somewhere to give the kiddies a horse ride. My expectations were blown out of the water by Jo and her amazing team from Seahorses Byron Bay. They provide up to ten beautiful horses for guests to enjoy. Even young children can groom and feed the horses before going on a spectacular ride along the glorious beach of Brunswick Heads.
The birthday girl’s favourite colour is aqua, so I designed the dessert table with a pop of colour to offset the rustic elements. I found leather fringing at my local Spotlight store, which gave the table a country/cowboy look. The old horse shoe tied to the fringing provided a central focal point to the front of the table.
One of my favourite elements of the dessert table was the horse favour jars. I had glass jars left over from our son’s Vintage barefoot wedding and I bought a bag of cheap plastic horse toys which I glued onto the jar lids and spray painted aqua. Such an easy way to make unique and quirky take home favours that will be a lovely keepsake for your guests. I filled my jars with chocolate covered and natural pretzels, Chex cereal and Maltesers.
The sweets menu included peanut butter Tim Tam pops, sticky date cupcakes with expresso chocolate ganache, assorted lollies and a banana cake with peanut butter frosting. Popcorn and potato chip bags were also added to the table. For a light lunch, I offered ham and cheese or coriander chicken rolls tied with aqua fabric scraps to keep in with the theme.
As delicious as the sweet treats were, the highlight of the party was definitely the horse ride. Jo assigned a horse to each of the riders, and a helper for the younger children. Charlotte immediately fell in love with her horse Candy. After time spent putting on helmets and being instructed on riding, it was time to mount up and follow the trail to the beach. Excitement levels were high! Seahorse Rides are perfect for the whole family and no riding experience is necessary. From my four year old to my husband, everyone in our family was able to enjoy the experience together.
After their spectacular ride along the beach, riders were encouraged to spend as long as they wanted grooming their horses and feeding them apples. Jo didn’t need to ask the kids twice! They have never been so up close and personal with horses and the intimacy that was shared between them was beautiful to watch.
Our horse party was such a success. The children were literally beaming the whole afternoon, long after we came home. Special thanks to Jo and her incredible assistants and horses, for giving our children one of the best days of their lives.
What a lucky birthday girl! The horse themed party looks delightful! Perfect table spread and fun ride along the beach! What more could a young girl ask for?!