Horse Park – Decaseconds

Pony Finals 2022 Day 3

2023-Mar-222023-Mar-21 adohertyhLeave a comment

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

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

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 V I really enjoy the “follow the leader” pattern of this image.

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

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 VIII

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 1

2023-Mar-01 adohertyh2 Comments

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.

Nearby, this trainer waits to lunge a pony.

And this young rider hurries to groom.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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: Emily Now for an amusing pair of shots: two head-on pictures of smiling riders—one with a somewhat larger mount than the other.

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.”)

First Ride on Taco

2023-Feb-22 adohertyhLeave a comment

The look on Piper’s face shows her feelings and focus during her first ride on a young horse—particularly when that horse is hers. This is Taco.

The Day Before Pony Finals

2023-Feb-132023-Feb-12 adohertyh1 Comment

Progressing through important summer horse show days finally brings us to the verge of Pony Finals. To whatever extent the event was subdued in 2020 and 2021, 2022 brought back the full experience.

Around Stonewall Farm, Pony Finals wouldn’t have been possible without the work of a whole team of young equestrians. Catching them in a rare group shot felt like a rare alignment of planets.

Naturally, that was because of the amount of time spent ferrying to and from the Rolex ring. As in past years, golf carts play a key role.

In the ring, young riders have time to school and explore the space before they return for scored trips beginning the next day. Behind this squad, the VIP sits empty.

There’s a mix of high stakes and informal context that makes this day before Pony Finals fascinating.

The formal riding clothes that will make up the next few days, the spectators in the stands, the judges, the jumps—all are absent.

There’s even time to stop for a snack…

…Or for a group photo.

The huge expanse of the Rolex’s footing makes for some remarkably neutral backgrounds. Details in horse and rider are all that stand out.

Back at the barn, pony after pony goes out for schooling or trials.

Will awaits a pony on the way back from the ring.

Megan gets Piper’s horse out of his stall…

And grooms him.

Piper heads off to ride.

The schooling ring is as busy as the Rolex.

In the warm-up, young riders focus on perfecting their rides.

Piper in the ring—with some good advertising.

“Maybe the real Pony Finals champions were the friends we made along the way.”

More from the Kentucky Summer

2023-Jan-252023-Jan-22 adohertyhLeave a comment

Another multiphoto set, this one from the final days of Kentucky Summer at the Kentucky Horse Park. We’ll start off with Dr. Piper Klemm showing Reuben and looking appropriately happy about it.

Team Stonewall Farm is looking pretty gregarious.

Will, on the other hand, looks surprised—and should probably be wearing a helmet.

This wide, dramatic view of riders in the ring, the gate in, and folks sheltering from the rain outside is made all the more dramatic by the one young woman with no rain gear. Mysterious!

We’ll finish as we began, with Piper looking excited to be riding Reuben.

Pony Finals Mega 2021/2020

2021-Aug-252021-Aug-24 adohertyhLeave a comment

The start of August marked Pony Finals 2021 (and a partial re-do of the aborted Pony Finals 2020.) Unlike recent years in the Walnut Ring, this year’s Pony Finals was held in Kentucky Horse Park’s dramatic Rolex Arena—and I was there with media credentials for The Plaid Horse.

Getting the show up and running meant moving a lot of resources, like the stack of bedding here, around the Horse Park… But the result was occasionally some unfortunate traffic jams.

Rails for jumps, likewise, were stacked up and ready to go.

The pony model classes happened relatively early on in the competition. Though spectators crowded the rails, stewards monitored them carefully to prevent any coaching of the young competitors.

Carleton Brooks and Piper Klemm were among the spectators.

Achieving victory in the model has a lot to do with conformation. Front legs should be even with one another.

When the class ended, the competitors exited beneath the massive Rolex sign.

Just outside the Arena was an area for warm up and golf-cart parking.

Riders stand at attention during an under saddle class.

…Then exit the Arena in an orderly fashion when the class has ended. The pool of competitors in some divisions was so large that they were broken into multiple groups.

While some ponies were in the ring, others were in the schooling ring for trials.

With horses and ponies involved in all kinds of activities, the Horse Park had a festival atmosphere.

Small ponies look even smaller in front of big signage.

And the huge Rolex Arena looks even bigger with a small pony in it.

At the end of the day, though, this is ultimately about what pony and rider can do together in the ring.

Fences on fences on fences.

The list of what pony is in what class… While this board might be small at some shows, here most divisions number in the dozens.

A bird’s eye view of the warm-up ring.

So many ponies are on the grounds that tents are used to supplement stall space.

Bath time outside the tent. Drying off the pony after washing is important to prevent overheating on humid summer days.

Back at the cottage, the trailer rests before another day as “pony taxi service”.

Kentucky Summer

2021-Aug-092021-Aug-07 adohertyhLeave a comment

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.

Jaunty Step

2021-Jun-092021-Jun-08 adohertyhLeave a comment

After a serious and staid dressage performance on a surprisingly chilly spring day, I have to imagine that it’s delightful to go for a bouncy stroll around the grassy fields of Kentucky Horse Park.

Afternoon Horse Park Walk

2021-Jun-04 adohertyhLeave a comment

Kentucky Horse Park has a bit of a “Jurassic Park” vibe, but going for a stroll on a spring afternoon is far less likely to result in being devoured by a velociraptor.

Buzzed Pattern

2021-May-19 adohertyhLeave a comment

The smooth, glossy coats of horses are no accident—they are body-clipped during the warmer months. Between combing and body-clipping, there is ample opportunity for cool patterns (as in this three-day eventing competitor at Land Rover Kentucky.)

Press Room

2021-Apr-26 adohertyhLeave a comment

I’ve heard that the Land Rover (previously Rolex) Kentucky Three-Day Eventing competition is the sport’s largest and most prestigious. In spite of that, no spectators were allows this year; the glowing press box looked pretty lonely in a darkened, empty indoor.

Visualize

2021-Feb-15 adohertyhLeave a comment

I’m told that visualization is key to a great hunter round, but I’ve never before captured quite so literal a photograph of the process in the warm-up ring.

Hurry Up and Wait

2021-Jan-182021-Jan-17 adohertyhLeave a comment

When it’s time for their rounds, riders have to be ready to head into the ring and perform. Being late is not an option, so “hurry up and wait” is the standard: Lots frantic action to prepare, followed by lots of waiting. The sense of stillness amid chaos that goes with that waiting are captured well, I think, in this image.

Pre-Ride Swagger

2020-Jan-102020-Jan-09 adohertyhLeave a comment

Maybe it’s a little slump down in the saddle in the August sun of Kentucky, and maybe the glare is bright… Or maybe there’s a bit of pre-ride swagger.

Venturing Into Kentucky Horse Park

2020-Jan-032019-Dec-31 adohertyhLeave a comment

The huge expanses of space and the mixture of animals that might not be seen elsewhere make Kentucky Horse Park a sort of real world Jurassic Park (minus the dinosaur attacks).