Category Archives: The Rest

Photography Friday: Anniversary Edition

Posted on by

9

Yesterday marked 4 years of marriage with the husband, and 8 years since we met on a cruise ship and started dating. So to give you guys a reprieve from horsey photos this Friday I thought it would be fun to share some of our wedding photos!

All photos are by Robyn Van Dyke Photography.

So excited that I forgot to grab my bouquet!

And then a series of photos that basically represent my college days running with a pack of feral boys. Illustrated here is a drinking game where a pre-decided item (in this case a bouncy ball) was secretly passed around from drink to drink. If someone snuck it into your drink you had to finish it within 2 minutes or give it back. If you successfully finished, you got to keep it and sneak it into someone else’s drink. Yes, college at its finest. And no, I would not back down from the game, not even on my wedding night!

So many memories! Wishing you all a happy Friday! Have a great weekend all!

Photography Friday: Lilybird Flowers Round II

Posted on by

1

Sorry, not sorry, I couldn’t not share more of the photos from my styled shoot that was also last week’s Photography Friday post. Today’s round of portraits again feature the beautiful work of Lilybird Flowers, and seriously- are you guys not just in love with these flower crowns?

Thanks to Leah of Lilybird Flowers again for including me in this exciting opportunity! Let’s get this party started!

The Queen of Flowers herself.

Photography Friday: Styled Shoot with Lilybird Flowers

Posted on by

4

When one of my girl friends mentioned to me back in November that she wanted to start a floral business, I was so excited for her, and more than eager to propose we do a photoshoot together that would show off her services.

A styled shoot is an exciting opportunity for a photographer, because you get to exert an unusual amount of control over the aesthetic look of your subjects. In a normal photoshoot, the client chooses their outfits, the location, the horse/pets/etc and so on and so forth- and so they should- its their shoot! But in a styled shoot, the florist and I got to nitpick every detail.

Our model was another friend, who also was my realtor for the House on a Hill 2.0! Katie is a stunning creature and her young Hanoverian gelding, Sully (aka Smush) was a wonderful companion.

The hope is that Lilybird Flowers and I will partner for shoots in the area, using her florals as a wonderful accompaniment to my portrait sessions.

It’s been an exciting week for BGD and I have loved collaborating with Lilybird Flowers so far. Hopefully there will be more floral equestrian shoots featured here in the future!

Happy Friday, all!

Photography Friday: Equestrian Gender Reveal

Posted on by

3

Horses are a part of our family, even if they don’t (often) fit through our front door! So when Kasey and Trip reached out to me to do an equestrian gender reveal shoot, it absolutely made sense. We scheduled the shoot for the farm where she keeps her retired (maybe to be un-retired!) showjumper Noah, and her baby thoroughbred Tide. We chased the sun all over the farm, and here are the results!

And for the big reveal- this family of 4 will become a family of 5 and welcome their little boy!

Congrats to Kasey and Trip, and happy Friday everyone!

Photography Friday: Christine and Kadet

Posted on by

4

Christine is a very special friend of mine, and also a huge part of this blog in that she has probably taken a good percentage of the media, particularly sales horse media, that you see on this site.

In return for the countless (because if we’re counting, it’s probably more than 20) hours driving to horse shows or seeing prospective horses, as well as being chief ear wrangler for my photography projects, I was keen to do a photo session with her and her horse Kadet.

Kadet is a special guy himself, a spritely soul turning 19 this year. He is retired from the highest levels of showjumping and now enjoys the good life of trail riding and light work with Christine. When he’s not galloping around his spacious paddock, Kadet’s other skill is proving himself to be the miracle horse. Despite breaking his coffin bone, getting cast in his stall, and fracturing a bone in his leg (all separate occasions), he’s bounced back every time and is the picture of health today.

So many thanks to Christine for her continuous support and friendship! Happy Friday to everyone!

Photography Friday: Ocala Portrait Session

Posted on by

8


web-julie-3

When I went to Ocala last month, I got to meet my first Julieann’s new Irish import, Ollie. So obviously we had to do a photoshoot with him, and her OG Jasper, in and amongst the stunning spanish moss of Horsepower Equestrian. Ollie is such a ham and a typical [big] baby, and it was hilarious trying to position him so that he wouldn’t try and eat the moss that was so conveniently at face level!

web-jasper-2

We also did horsey version of a family photo, and I have to say, when the boys starting touching noses my heart just melted.

web-family-portrait-1

web-julie2-1-final

web-jasper-3

web-julie-5

web-julie-9

Sadly, the light faded quickly, but not before we wrapped up one of my favorite sessions to date with this sweet moment between J and Ollie back at the barn.

web-julie-11

Lots of photos coming over the coming months, I hope you guys enjoy a little photography every week between now and.. I don’t know.. forever! Happy weekend!

Photography Friday: I Bella and Cambalda

Posted on by

3

Well, I did tell you guys I was going to hit the photography game hard this year, and so far I have made good on that promise! One of the exciting shoots I did to kick the year off was this rather impromptu mini-session done in the warmup arena at Wellington. Cambalda, or Ping as he goes by in the barns, needs to introduction to the eventing crowd. He’s been on the circuit at the top levels of the discipline for many years now, culminating in being named alternate to the Pan American games team.

web-ibella-cambalda-9

web-ibella-cambalda-compete-5

I Bella is a little newer to the eventing scene but no less talented. She finished 12th in the Eventing Showcase and looks to be an up and coming star for the future and one to watch. And while I understand that she is an absolute fireball under saddle, she is potentially one of the quietest, sweetest horses I have ever met- I mean honestly, how many Advanced level horses do you know that will stand like a statue in the middle of a showgrounds without a lead rope???web-ibella-cambalda-5

web-ibella-cambalda-compete-4

web-ibella-cambalda-4web-cambalda-ibella-1

I really must thank Erin, Jennie’s groom, and Jennie herself for allowing me the pleasure of photographing these truly special horses. It was an honor and one photography session that will stand out for me for the rest of my life!

Wine Snob Wednesday: The Ocala Edition

Posted on by

1

As if we didn’t do enough drinking in Wellington, we kept the party going once we got back to Ocala. Amongst the stunning oaks and the lacquered walls of a truly beautiful barn, we tried out three more Equine-themed wines.

Please enjoy a particularly antic-filled edition of WSW, and in particular be sure to watch an eventer’s attempt to open a wine bottle sans wine key at the 4:22 mark.

Wine Snob Wednesday: Wellington Edition

Posted on by

0

Drinking wine in Wellington? No big deal. Commonplace, even.

Videoing yourself drinking wine in Wellington? Or anywhere else, for that matter? Weird. Lucky for me my tribe is totally down for anything, especially when fermented grapes are involved.

So excuse the interruptions, the background noise, and the wind (who knew how windy it could get down there?!), and enjoy this week’s rendition of Wine Snob Wednesday.

Cheers!

PS- That 14 Hands White Blend… delish.