A friend I made during the last photo shoot.
Off this weekend, hopefully squeezing in not one but two puppy photo shoots! Puppy breath galore! And then of course another lesson!
Category Archives: The Rest
Photography Friday: Alex and Bo
As you know, I did a couple photo shoots last weekend for a couple dear friends of mine. The second of these was for my BFF (going to pretend like I’m not too old to say that), Alex. Alex and I have been buds for forever, even before she acquired Bo, the four legged love of her life. Bo is a 15 year old Appendix gelding with a personality goofy enough to match that of Alex’s. The understanding these two have for each other is inspiring and hilarious to witness- they are the perfect compliment of each other.
In the last few years, Alex has transitioned from Hunter-Jumper princess to the dark side eventing, and asked me to photograph Bo now that he is at the peak of fitness. Mere days after capturing these images, Alex felt there was something not-quite-right with Bo, even though he was, even to vet-trained eyes, sound. But from insistence from her, ultrasounds showed the mineralization of an old tendon injury. It’s still unclear how things will continue, but I’m all the more grateful that we were able to take these photos before that news. It all goes to show that horses are such fragile animals for all their size, and every moment we have with them is precious.
Bo marveled at my umbrella holding/camera shooting skills
As you can see, it was actually raining pretty hard- thank goodness for these beautiful crape myrtle trees!
Have a great weekend!
Weird Wednesday
Don’t ask me why, but I was fascinated by this music video. It’s like theatre dressage. Cool.
Happy Wednesday everyone 🙂
Photography Friday: The story of Baron
Alright, y’all. This is a photo shoot that has been on my mind and heart for a very long time before we ever picked up the camera.
Here’s why…
I met Ali and Baron when I bought Foster, as fellow boarders at the beautiful old barn I left not too long ago. Ali, an adult amateur like me, was bringing up a young horse with the intention to event. Enter Baron- a fiesty little 15.1 hh former racehorse whose sweet disposition and occasional exuberance made for an exceptional event horse in the making.
Ali and Baron have joined Foster and I on almost all of our adventures, and so I’ve watched them grow together. I saw them jump their first roll top, that first 3′ fence (both of these accompanied by exclamations from Ali that I can’t list here- did I mention his exuberance?), watched them master lead changes and find success in the dressage ring. Ali and Baron are a great pair, and it’s been joyful watching them progress so much in just a few years.
Fast forward to last April. I was riding a train through Scotland on my honeymoon, and I was reading an email from Ali about a bump that had formed on Baron’s face. We thought many things- maybe he had been kicked, maybe he had a tooth issue, but eventually the worst was thought; maybe he had cancer. A trip to NC State’s veterinary school confirmed that Baron had Plasma Cell Myeloma, a cancer that has only been diagnosed in 12 horses before. Heartbroken is the only word fit to describe that day.
Still, more than a year later, Baron has been mostly unaware of the sickness. He still does daily gallops around the field, begs for attention, and continues his normal antics. Ali was able to continue riding him for some time, until soreness in the sternum prevented him from being girthed and saddled. Now Baron is retired, enjoying his days steeped in peppermints and affection. We know those days are limited, but for now, he is happy, and that is enough.
I did this photo shoot with Ali and Baron, for two reasons. One is simply because I owe her so much- she has become a wonderful friend and I will never be able to pay her back for the generosity she has shown me over the years. The second reason, is that this horse deserves a moment to be celebrated, for all he has done and simply because he is a beautiful animal, and that is always to be celebrated.
With these photos, I attempted to capture some of the heart of Baron and the relationship he has with his owner, who is a brave, brave woman and so fully deserving of having these moments to keep with her forever.
Have a great weekend, y’all.
Photography Friday
This weekend I will be doing a couple fun horse-related shoots for two wonderful friends and their equines who have been been on some rather eventful journeys. The first, Ali and Baron, is a rather poignant event. Here are some photos of Baron that I have taken over the past couple years.
Hug your horses, friends, and have a great weekend.
A spray tan and a Wedding
I spent the weekend in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, feeling oh-so-honored as bridesmaid for a special friend of mine! I met the bride on the first day of orientation at college- we were roommates and discovered that we were both horse crazy girls who were determined not to gain the dreaded freshman 15. So what started out as a running partnership evolved into party antics and then developed into a beautiful friendship that has lasted all these last 9 years!
So last week was a balancing act of evenings spent getting manicures (necessary for bridesmaids who are also barn heathens riders) and spray tans (again, necessary for covering up that sports bra tanline you got last week while outside showjumping), and maybe getting in a little saddle time that hopefully won’t undo all the hard work it took to actually make you look human again. Le sigh.
My obsession with this creature occasionally makes me unsafe for public display.
But all in all, the wedding was perfect- a little bit of everything needed to make for a great occasion. Much love, a few drinks, and lots of laughter. Also, I only tripped once. A resounding success, all around.
Memories from the wedding: The beautiful bride, NC mountains, the husband, the bff, and rehearsal fun
Posh Polo Bachelorette
The other weekend I had the honor of co-hosting a dear friend’s bachelorette event. In the interests of all thing horses (the bride-to-be is also an equestrian), we centered the event around a local polo match, featuring a wine tasting for the guests. Even those of the non-horsey variety enjoyed watching horses and riders thunder across the pitch, all while sipping and being educated on wine and cheese pairings.
Of course to go along with such an event, we laid out a spread that would be both prettily feminine and pay homage to the elegance of the occasion. So we started with the invitation I designed…
… and decided to run with a theme of mint chevron with subtle pink embellishments. Probably the most fun in planning the decor was picking the florals! Garden roses, hypericum, irises, dusty miller, and hydrangea, among a few other varieties, gave the tables the air of an afternoon tea party.
Mint chevron runners that A hand stamped also adorned the table, and each guest had their own hand-monogrammed wine glass for the wine tasting. The bride’s glass, of course, had her new monogram printed on it!
Between chukkers (timed segments of a polo game) and after wine tasting, we all played fun games around marriage advice and honeymoon packing for the bachelorette, and nibbled from the smorgasbord of goodies available.
And let’s not forget the cheese! Each cheese was labeled, in case there were others beside myself who couldn’t recognize a gouda from a gruyere without tasting it (and maybe not even then!).
At the end of the match, the bachelorette had the honor of presenting the winning team with their awards as a crowd gathered ’round to watch.
And then as a party, we were able to snap a photo with the two MVP’s, of both the four-legged, and two-legged kind.
And so ended our horsey, winey, bachelorette event! I think it’s safe to say, a good time was had by all, and I felt lucky to meet many of the bachelorette’s lovely friends, and look forward to seeing them again in a few weeks for the wedding! See you all soon!
New, new, new
That is- new job (which of course y’all know about), new saddle (squee!), and new accomplishments!
How ’bout them knees?!
Today is my last day as an Experience Architect. It’s been really neat learning the proper in’s and out’s of user experience (how users interact with websites, and developing interfaces and interactions that make the web experience as optimal as possible), and it’s satisfied my curiosity and hunger for delving into the psychological aspects of design. However, I’m really excited to get my hands dirty in Photoshop and push pixels once more! My new role will encompass print, presentation, and web design, as well as brand development and a whole slew of other fun things- they do say variety is the spice of life!
Because Patrick Stewart in any meme is a win
In other news, I bit the bullet and bought myself a new saddle. I feel like I’m being adventurous, as I bought it on ebay, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that it arrives to me in the mint condition it was advertised as. This puppy has supposedly been sat in 4 times, and was offered at less than 50% its retail value- I’m taking a gamble on it, and I hope it’s a good one! It’s a Prestige D2000- as much as I love the Optimax model, they are hard to find! I think these thigh blocks will be super helpful in getting my leg where I want it though- can’t wait to sit in it!
My preciousss
And then lastly, last night N gave me another lesson. After the frustrations of last week, we decided to do a gymnastic and try and have fun with it while letting Foster find a spot on his own, so I’d stop picking at him for the deep spot. A little trial and error, but here is what we ended on!
That’s a new record for us- 3’9″! Foster handled it so easily, it’s exciting to think that 4′ may be within our reach, and Prelim might be possible after all! The adrenaline was really going, and the ride was definitely a confidence builder and I’m thankful to N for pushing us to make it happen!
3’9″!
I am so stoked about the last couple days, and the changes to come this week. It’s a balm to the soul to know you have good friends, an honest horse, and to think your career is heading in the right direction, and to say I’m feeling so blessed is an understatement. So very thankful!
You know you’re a nerd when…
You say you have to leave early from a social engagement, because you really have to find time to read today. Yeah.
So if I’m a little quiet at the moment, it’s because every other thought is devoted to the newest Outlander book. Oh, you haven’t heard of Outlander? Let me tell you all about it… Highly recommend, especially if you need time off from life horses and enjoy a well researched historical fiction with the best character development ever. EVER. Alright, I’ll stop.
Unfortunately cheesy title, otherwise COME TO ME, MY PRECIOUS
Other things I keep thinking about- how I turn my agency/I’m-not-a-hipster-but-I’m-still-kinda-cool wardrobe that I’ve been building up for the last 5 months into a business professional getup once more. (Read between the lines: SHOPPING!) While there’s no strict dress code at the new job, I will be working in the Executive building with all the fancy people, and I’m pretty sure my collection of different colored jeans isn’t going to cut it. Dern.
Speaking of spending money, I have been debating on shucking out the dollars and investing in some fly gear. My fly sheet is just too thick for Carolina summers, so we’ll start with some new fly boots to help the pony keep those pesky bugs off his legs.
And they come in green?!
Otherwise, since I can’t give Foster the time off that it would take me to finish the afore-mentioned monster book, I’ve still been riding and working a bit to keep him in shape. Thankfully, N is still around and was willing to give me my little lesson last night. Unfortunately I’d had kind of a crap day at work and came into the ride wanting the perfect day-saving ride that of course never happens when you really want it. Not that Foster was bad, actually he was great and did everything I asked of him. But I picked at him and was over-riding the jumps, and as I result we consistently got distances that were deep, deep, deep.
Rather deep than this! Ahh!
Luckily N knows me well enough to tell me to take it back a notch and have fun, and just let the jumps come to me instead of finding the deep distance. All things in time, and it’s good advice that I will take to heart. The next couple days are going to hit the upper 90s, and so Foster and I are going to get a little break and I’m going to work on my attitude! A little bachelorette fun is also on the menu for this weekend, and I think that will be just the ticket for turning that frown upside-down! Can’t wait!
Post-Move 2
Our move was not quite as un-eventful as I was hoping, since my horse who normally jogs onto the trailer with much enthusiasm decided he was not going to get on. At all. The only thing I can think of that might have started this is at that barn, the trees that line the driveway have not been trimmed in ages, and I’ve noticed him spooking when we drive on or off the property, since the limbs poke into the open sides of the trailer as we pass. I mentioned this to the barn manager, who said he would take care of it, and I suppose future boarders will now benefit from it- but poor Foster is going to have to revisit his self-loading skills so that we don’t spend 20 minutes arguing about getting into the grey box of death.
Sorry, rant over.
So far he seems to have really settled into his new home. He’s got a nice big stall with a fan, and a door he can stick his head out of, which I think makes him happy. He even gets to share a barred wall with a cute little Arab mare.
His pasture is small by some standards, but I think it works well for Foster who is used to going out by himself. Again, he’s sharing a fence line with some mares, and definitely gets to see plenty of other horses around him.
The facilities at this barn are the nicest we’ve had access to- a covered arena with mirrors, which I love/hate (only hate for the moment, in that I haven’t seen myself ride in so long, and ick! Lots of things to fix!!!), and the jumping arena, both with recycled tire footing.
Tomorrow we will have a little jump lesson with N, and it will be our first ride out in the jumping arena. Hopefully it goes well! If I have the time, I’m going to try out the new toy the husband got me for my birthday- my own GoPro camera! Looking forward to many future helmet cam videos!
I got a Spiderman balloon too 🙂
We’ll be taking a break from showing, or at least Horse Trials, for a while, mostly because 1) I turn into a tomato when I ride in the heat, and passing out is not cool, and 2) I’ll be too busy with weddings and bachelorette stuff to squeeze in a show! So for a while it’s going to be all about lessons and if I can possible get in to some jumping shows (even if it means trying Hunters!), I’ll be doing that. I need to get myself in a jump arena and remember how to ride!
Speaking of riding, I have a lot of cupcakes to work off… yum!
So I apologize in advance if there are not quite as many horsey posts, as life will be taking over this summer and horses will take a little bit of a backburner position. Should be lots of adventures coming up, nonetheless!
Red on the Right 