Camp Horseshoe Parent Handbook
Updated: June 2, 2026
The Camp Horseshoe Parent Handbook is a guide for current and incoming Camp Horseshoe families preparing for summer camp in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. The handbook includes important information about camp dates, required forms, travel, packing, camper communication, visiting camp, cabin placement, health care, medications, and camp policies. Parents are encouraged to review the handbook before summer and keep it available throughout the camp season.
Experienced Leadership, Thoughtful Care
At Camp Horseshoe, the people leading camp are at the heart of every camper’s experience. Parents can feel confident knowing that Horseshoe is guided by an experienced, hands-on leadership team that understands both the joy of camp and the responsibility of caring for children away from home.
Owners and Directors Fran and Jordan Shiner bring more than 50 years of combined summer camping experience to Horseshoe. As lifelong camp people and parents themselves, they understand the trust families place in camp, and they are deeply involved in shaping a summer where boys feel known, supported, encouraged, and safe.
That care extends through the entire Horseshoe leadership team. Many senior leaders return to camp summer after summer, bringing continuity, maturity, and a deep understanding of Horseshoe’s traditions, routines, and expectations. From cabin life to activities, trips, special events, and parent communication, leadership is present throughout the summer to support campers and staff.
A Staff Team Parents Can Trust
A great camp experience depends on great staff, and Camp Horseshoe takes pride in recruiting, training, and retaining high-quality counselors and activity leaders. Horseshoe’s staff team includes more than 100 individuals, including college students, teachers, coaches, young professionals, and many former campers who already know and love The Shoe.
Many staff members return year after year, giving campers the benefit of familiar faces, experienced counselors, and a team that understands the rhythm and expectations of camp. That continuity helps create a strong, dependable culture where staff know the campers, know the program, and know what it means to be a Horseshoe role model.
Horseshoe maintains a 1:3 staff-to-camper ratio, helping ensure attentive supervision, strong instruction, and meaningful relationships between campers and counselors. In the cabins, staff live alongside campers, with 2–3 counselors typically living with 8–10 campers. This allows counselors to be present for the small moments that matter: helping a new camper settle in, encouraging a boy before an activity, noticing when someone needs support, and making sure each camper feels part of the group.
Staff are selected with one central question in mind: will this person take great care of children and be an outstanding role model for campers? Once hired, every staff member participates in an immersive nine-day pre-camp orientation. Training covers the daily program, counselor responsibilities, child management, problem solving, relationship building, and the tools staff need to help campers grow in confidence and self-esteem.
Training does not stop when campers arrive. Throughout the summer, Horseshoe staff continue to receive support through weekly staff meetings, Division Heads, and the Leadership Team. This ongoing supervision helps counselors stay prepared, supported, and focused on providing the best possible care for each boy.
FAQ: Leadership & Staff at Camp Horseshoe
Camp Horseshoe maintains a 1:3 staff-to-camper ratio. This helps ensure strong supervision, quality instruction, and individualized care throughout the camp day.
Horseshoe has an extremely high 90% staff return rate, with many staff members returning year after year. This continuity helps create a stable, experienced staff culture and gives campers the benefit of familiar faces each summer.
Horseshoe’s staff includes college students, teachers, coaches, young professionals, and former campers who return to give back to the community they grew up in. Many cabin counselors are college-aged young adults, supported by experienced leadership, teachers, coaches, professionals, and year-round camp staff.
Horseshoe looks for staff members who will take excellent care of children and serve as strong role models. After being hired, each staff member completes an intensive nine-day pre-camp orientation focused on the daily program, counselor responsibilities, child management, problem solving, relationship building, and supporting camper self-esteem. During the summer, staff receive ongoing supervision and support from Division Heads and the Horseshoe Leadership Team.
All staff participate in Horseshoe’s nine-day intensive pre-camp orientation, which prepares them for counselor responsibilities, camper care, problem solving, and the daily routines of camp. Staff training continues throughout the summer through weekly staff meetings and ongoing leadership support. Horseshoe also has specialized safety leadership in key areas, including Red Cross lifeguard instruction and Camp Safety Director certification within the leadership team, helping support a safe and well-supervised camp environment.