A Spring Saturday Morning in Salisbury, CT

As a child, I had this recurring dream of flying above my small Connecticut town. (Blame too many viewings of The Explorers.) The magic of actually rising above that town (with a drone) makes even the bare trees of early spring look romantic.

A Spring Saturday Morning in Salisbury, CT

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Pony Finals 2022 Day 3

After exploring the first two days of Pony Finals 2022, we’ve reached the last day of my coverage. The positive vibes are rolling…

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 I

But already, there are some sad faces as horses and ponies start to ship out.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 II

The warm-up ring is filled no only with young equestrians pursuing its eponymous activity, but also trial rides for folks considering purchasing or leasing.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 III

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 IV

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 VI really enjoy the “follow the leader” pattern of this image.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 VI

Over by the Rolex, a loner rider slowly walks back to the barn.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 VII

I love the energy of an excited rider, fresh out of the ring after a great ride. Hanging out by the Rolex’s in gate gives me the perfect opportunity to captures shots like these.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 VIIIPony Finals 2022 Day 3 IX

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 X

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 XI

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 XII

Overlooking the scene gives me some opportunity to make additions to a recent photographic trope I’ve favored: pictures of a grand scene with an obvious place from which a view can watch.

Can you see the pony jumping in the distance in each of these shots?

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 XIII

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3 XIV: The Rolex

Breakfast on the Porch II

A perfect late-summer morning at Mohonk Mountain House holds the promise of a day spent outside. While this image may be a sequel to last week’s post, I think this other angle reveals a far different view of the possibilities a day can hold when experiencing vacation.

Breakfast on the Porch II

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2

Continuing from our Day 1 post, we now move into the second day of Pony Finals 2022. Given the dust and debris blown around on any given day, I rarely swap lenses once I make my choice. Day 2 meant a lot of shooting with the 70-200 mm f/2.8 and its buttery bokeh.

The first step is, of course, getting to the ring. (It’s not really—lots of things come before.)

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 I

And what a ring it is! Pony Finals has been held in the Rolex for the past few years. In this flat class, the full extent of the space starts to become apparent.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 II: Flat Class

Big classes mean a bit of a traffic jam getting in and out of the ring. This palomino circling while waiting provides a nice contrast: one forward face, while the rest face away.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 III: Ring Exit

Tom O’Mara, President of the US Equestrian Federation, was on hand.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 IV: El Presidente

A parade of riders matches the parade of sponsor boards and seats.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 V: By the Wall

As with most horse shows, Pony Finals features a lot of “hurry up and wait.”

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 VI: Waiting

Lined up for the judges.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 VII: Line Up

An exiting-the-ring parade.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 VIII: Chute

What a proud face. The 70-200 mm’s bokeh is going to great use here.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 IX

I love alternate angles on posed shots.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 X

A lot of young riders are learning to work hard at Pony Finals.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 XI: Wash

Though horses can’t compete during Pony Finals, there are still a few practicing around the Kentucky Horse Park.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 XII

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 XIV

The leaves really frame this rider well.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 XIII

Back in the ring, we’ve reached the over-fences classes.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 XV

It takes a whole team to get a rider to the ring.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 XVI

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 XVII

And sometimes some behind-the-scenes negotiations.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 2 XVIII

Breakfast on the Porch I

Mohonk Mountain House remains a place nestled into both the rocks of the Shawangunk Mountains and a pre-digital era. Nonetheless, delightful new traditions manage to merge into the setting. Breakfast in the open air of the expansive front porch came about during the Covid era but has remained—a just delightful way to start the day.

This image also further exhibits the trend I explored in another recent image, showing both a view and a space for the viewer.

Breakfast on the Porch I

Old and New Kentucky

While the Interstate system feels like an ingrained part of American culture at this point, its presence (in the Eastern U.S., anyway) is revealed as a late addition from a drone’s eye view: the original patterns of farms and country roads has this massive strip of highway laid atop it.

Old and New Kentucky

Rays from the Barn

Drones open up all kinds of new perspectives, but these vantages don’t always have to be extreme or dramatic. The equivalent height of an aerial work platform presents just the correct geometry to get these rays from the setting sun to explode from the roof of a recently renovated barn outside Lexington, Kentucky.

Rays from the Barn

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1

After posts devoted to my photography on the days leading up to Pony Finals 2022, we’ve finally arrived at the main event.

Days start early and run long; this pair is already heading back from the ring in spite of the morning light behind them.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 I

Nearby, this trainer waits to lunge a pony.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 II

And this young rider hurries to groom.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 III

This was my first summer working with Sony’s 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens; the narrow depth of field (with its buttery bokeh) in combination with the eye-detecting autofocus has taken all of the luck out of capturing shots like this one.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 IV

Speaking of luck, the passengers on this overloaded golf cart might be pushing theirs.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 V: Loaded on the Golf Cart

Some pictures seem like they’re emitting sound. This is one of those.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 VI

Warm-ups in the Rolex Ring were a high-traffic affair.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 VII: Rolex Ring Traffic

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 VIII: In the Ring

In spite of the traffic, moments emerge in which a single rider is isolated.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 IX: Pony Triangle

I love those moments in which horse and rider seem to share the same expression.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 X

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 XI

Though there are no events in which adults compete during Pony Finals, this wouldn’t be a Kentucky photoset without Piper and Reuben in the mix.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 XII: Thanks

Emily Elek, one of Piper’s trainers, is always exceptionally busy during Pony Finals. This picture of Emily talking on the phone is rather special for folks who know her constant refrain: “Don’t call—text!”

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 XIII: EmilyNow for an amusing pair of shots: two head-on pictures of smiling riders—one with a somewhat larger mount than the other.

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 XIV: Minibike

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 XV

Lastly, a shot of Will during his last Pony Finals (he just aged out of the under-18 competition) riding alongside his father in the electric golf cart. (The cart is affectionately called “blueberry.”)

Pony Finals 2022 Day 1 XVI: Burtard Family on the Blueberry