A scene from this summer’s Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park: This serious young rider is ready to, well, ride. Look at that focused expression.
Tag: horse
Kentucky Horse Farm
The grassy, rolling, limestone-based Kentucky countryside looks too perfect. Precise fencing geometries and gently rippling ponds are just too much. I’m reminded of the famous Microsoft Windows XP default wallpaper, “Bliss.” The key to making both images work, I think, is an overall very clean image with just enough small details and imperfections at the edges to show you that it must be real.
Ancona on Monster
Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky make for excellent people-watching. Designer Charles Ancona’s preferred mode of transportation is his color-coordinated Ducati Monster.
Riders at the Rail
At the Kentucky Horse Park, the Kentucky Summer Classic has wound down and Pony Finals are about to begin. This particular arrangements of trainers, riders, and well-wishers was arrayed at the the warm-up ring, and the gradient of shadows beneath the tree branches brought to mind some modern take on a Renaissance painting: linear, repeating patterns and strong, horizontal lines.
Smiling Hunters
This weekend, I photographed the Hunter Derby at Genesee Historic Village, outside Rochester, New York. Though I’ve been to many English riding events over the years, this was the first I’ve seen in the authentic setting of rolling hills and on-course trees. (They even had a pack of hounds out on course, early on.) Perhaps the most surreal part of the weekend was seeing the period reenactors (in their historically accurate garb) next to the riders (also in heavily historically inspired gear).
Knight III
Riders are the stars of the show (in this case, the Kentucky Summer Classic), but I love to see the way the natural form of horse and rider fit into the lines and structures, tents and fences, of the grounds. Where do the spectators, trainers, grooms (and photographers) fit into that equation? Are we also a part of the horse show structure?
Knight II
I swear that this shot is a candid: no posing or planning went into the moment. A little image of American aristocracy, expressed as Anglophilia: the thick hedge, the English riding garb, the friendly pony ears, the quiet attention. The cover of some future magazine, perhaps?
All in the (Horse) Family
Though I don’t often show my photography from the people/photojournalism/street mode, I couldn’t resist this image of Mario Deslauriers and clan at the Lake Placid Grand Prix in Lake Placid, New York last summer. The dark greens and stark whites, with the bokeh’ed horse in the background, meld to a vibe that I would call “fresh.”
Knight
This frozen moment of energy and will and concentration captures Lillie Keenan in the Grand Prix at the 2013 Fairfield County Hunt Club June Benefit Horse Show. Though it’s the incredible 2-meter jumps that really capture the attention in these events, for my moment, it’s the rocket acceleration leading up to a jump that makes for far more drama.
Sharing
Waking up early on a cold morning can be tough, but riders never seem to have trouble getting up for a show. (Caffeine seems to help!) I loved the moment of calm and intimacy between horse and rider in this particular image, and the comfort it conveys.
The combination of chestnut horse and bright red Coke can also goes a long way to making the scarlet and brown St. Lawrence color scheme appealing.
Madden Indoor
Here’s a little (huge panorama) teaser from an upcoming story I’ll have in Horse & Style Magazine, covering the barn and home of Olympic gold medal winner Beezie Madden. I was particularly enamored with this shot of the indoor ring, distorted to a fantastical shape by the panorama process. With all of this wood and wide beams, I can think of nothing more than a Viking longhouse (built at horse-scale, of course.)
Scenes from Kentucky Horse Park
For my 500th Decaseconds post, I’m bringing you some photos from the Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park outside Lexington. The weather was fully as humid and sunny as the southern Midwest is fabled to be at the end of July, and these three images capture the different aspects of the place. This first image, of the model, captures the form and uniform (so to speak) that rigidly controls the event.
This image, on the other hand, shows one of the folks working behind the scene. Given his surf-ready hair, blue wayfarers, and general air of authority, I call this image “Bro-thority.”
Finally, I love this shot for the looks on the riders’ faces as they exit the ring—done, for just a moment, and proud or defeated or ambivalent but, at the very least, relieved.
Ice Pony
Feeling a bit of the black-and-white mood at the moment, I wanted to bring in this shot of a pony at Stonewall Farm in Ixonia, Wisconsin, that focuses on the textures of ice-encrusted hair and big, friendly eyes.
Snow Ponies
My trip to Chicagoland meant a pilgrimage to Stonewall Farm in Ixonia, Wisconsin, where the ponies had shaggy winter coats that matched the landscape perfectly.
Winning Grin
Competing in hunter/jumper events looks incredibly stressful, so I’m always amazed when I see riders who can keep their cool under pressure. Perhaps I captured a bit of that nonchalance in this image.
Decaseconds 