Equine Photographer Sarah Andrew: Photo-a-Day Challenge October 2010

So I took part in a challenge every day in October- I was assigned a word and each day, I had to take a picture that represented the word in some way. Photos had to be taken on the day. Here are the words and photos:

Oct 1- SKY (stars in the “sky”- taken in Kentucky at the World Equestrian Games)

Oct 2- CONTRAST (also taken at WEG)

Oct 3- STALL (Calumet Farm in Lexington, KY)

Oct 4- RELATIONSHIP (back at home, riding Wizard)

Oct 5- ONE (Presious Passion at Monmouth Park, on a rainy morning)

Oct 6- RED (Talullah Belle enjoys an apple)

Oct 7- INTERACTION (two Belgians at Camelot Auction)

Oct 8- BLUR (two Haflingers at my barn)

Oct 9- TRUST (Lily the Wonder Mare and her devoted owner)

Oct 10- SPONTANEOUS (never a dull moment with Indy the Appaloosa)

Oct 11- SYNCHRONIZED (Monmouth Park)

Oct 12- TAIL (Alibar’s tail)

Oct 13- WATER (Wizard, steamy on a cool night)

Oct 14- WIDE (awesome Appaloosa mare at Camelot Auction)

Oct 15- DETAIL (my old boots, my new boots)

Oct 16- LIGHT (Wizard’s new shoes)

Oct 17- OLD (gates of Wolf Hill Farm)

Oct 18- LOVE (grave of beloved steeplechaser Festoon, namesake of Festoon Farm in Colts Neck, NJ)

Oct 19- WHORL (Wizard’s “wheat ear“)

Oct 20- COAT (a coat of hoof oil for Wizard)

Oct 21- SPIRIT (taken at Camelot Auction)

Oct 22- CIRCLE Taken at Winners International Farm in Chesterfield, NJ.

Oct 23- PERSPECTIVE (steeplechasing at Far Hills, NJ)

Oct 24- BOKEH Mary the Morgan was happy to be the bokeh mare

Oct 25- PATTERN (another day at the office and another pile of sale catalogs at the Thoroughbred Daily News)

Oct 26- ACTION (Monmouth Park)

Oct 27- INTENSITY (Gatsby’s bath)

Oct 28- COLORFUL (a colorful personality at Camelot!)

Oct 29- PEACEFUL Gleason and Jasmine at Horse Rescue United in New Egypt, NJ

Oct 30- SEPIA (a handsome grullo stallion in front of an old stone barn in Jobstown, NJ)

Oct 31- BLESSING Little Guin frolicks with her playmate at Helping Hearts Equine Rescue in Perrineville, NJ

JR Session 38: Dorito Gordito

Monday, 6/1/09

I did a few new portraits of Mary the Morgan. As she becomes more fit, she is filling out nicely. She looks wonderful and it’s fun to chronicle her progress. Photographing black horses has become enjoyable now that I have the perfect practice model mare. There are so many nuances: every type of light makes a different color cast on her coat. The last bit of available light was reaching Mary as I snapped these frames. I particularly like the way she looks in her new Stubben Golden Wings snaffle.

I hand grazed Wizard and put his front legs in standing bandages while I was at the barn. His left front leg is still swollen. He is not lame on it, but the inflammation is still there. He also got a little massage- he seems quite pleased with the pampering. Whenever I massage the muscles near the sacroiliac joint, he does an elaborate yawning routine. Yawning can be a sign of relaxation and released tension.

Did you ever realize that Doritos means “little bits of gold”? That would make JR a gordito dorito since he needs to get his grain cut back a little- he got a little more roly poly when I went to Kentucky.

JR was longed in the indoor arena today. We had another excellent and productive session. I had the happy realization that I had not heard JR interfere at all in the past three longeing sessions! I think that the work has made him more balanced and he is more coordinated so he strikes his own feet less often.

I always start with no side reins and we work toward connection with side reins. Tonight, I experimented with tightening the inside side rein one hole tighter than the outside side rein. I did not see a big difference, but big differences are not what I want to see at this phase of training :^) When we were done with side rein work, I asked for a canter. The canter was easier for him in the indoor arena since the footing is firmer. I only ask JR to canter about 2 or 3 times around in each direction at this point in his schooling.

When we were done longeing, I turned JR loose in the arena. He walked beside me, sans halter, sans tack, and cooled off. His interaction with me has reached a new level and it was apparent when he was at liberty. We’re finally starting to understand each other a little better :^)

I did a little massage work on JR as well- he loffed it.

Spotlight: Meadow Creek Farm

On Saturday, I went to Meadow Creek Farm for a photo session. What a lovely farm! The arena, barn, and paddocks were all beautifully maintained. And the horses and owners were fun. I took advantage of the strong October sunlight. The light was intense but the position of the sun changes so quickly at this time of year- we had to move fast every time we set up a new shot.

Here’s Cutsie. She’s a smart, well-trained 20 year old Paint mare. She stood like a pro for her photos- no halter, no bridle. Her right eye is part brown, part blue:

And she can RUN!

Here’s the handsome 6YO QH named Jet. He was so nice to work with until we turned him loose for his liberty photos… then he was jet-propelled!

Jet at sunset- I’ve been practicing my silhouettes quite a bit lately and the big horizon at the farm was perfect for sunset silhouettes.

And this is Angel- she is really sweet and very bonded to her owner. She has the cutest blonde eyelashes and a really cool blaze.

Next weekend, I’ll be at the Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase. A few days later, I’ll be on my way to California for the Breeders’ Cup!