We’ve finished Kentucky Summer at the Kentucky Horse Park and I thought it was time for a mega-post of my favorite shots from the week.
A lot has to happen around the barn to get the horses and ponies ready to compete… But everyone needs a break from time to time. The ponies seemed interested in Will’s snacks.
Will’s family dog, Slick the corgi, joined us in Kentucky this year.
Rider Lexi Miller was out schooling ponies in the shadow of the Rolex Stadium.
Maya Thomas likewise had her ponies to school. I really like this pony’s mane, which prefers to stick straight up.
Piper Klemm was jumping Reuben in the schooling ring. Her trainer, Emily Elek, looks on from the background.
Lexi relaxes around the barn on a step ladder…
…Or on a trunk.
Piper heads out on Reuben for a class.
A father and daughter have coffee-and-phone time in the morning.
This horse’s whiskers were caught perfectly in the morning light.
Piper tightens Reuben’s string girth, a signature of Balmoral.
In a parallel to the “dogs look like their owners” trope, I like photographing cases were riders match their clothes to their horses. Unsurprisingly, this seems to happen most with gray horses.
Back at the barn, boots need last-minute polishing before heading to the ring.
Will wait to ride. The step ladder gets a lot of use for both climbing onto horses and waiting to do so.
This horse is drying after a bath; the curly mane is a sign that braids have recently been removed.
Julia Rossow, here watching action in the schooling ring, is an assistant trainer at Balmoral.
That schooling ring can be an exceptionally chaotic place.
Following an under-saddle class, the winner is called forward to receive her ribbon while the rest of the large field watches.
A Gucci belt is quite the warm-up accessory.
Piper gets some training advice from Emily Elek.
David Vega is an incredible horseman; Piper was honored that he made it to the ring to watch her show.
Hard work pays off with a wall of ribbons.
Decaseconds 