I love working with children and their ponies

Sometimes life throws a few challenges our way but if we can overcome them, the rewards make it all worthwhile. This was my first two-hour equine photography session after the first lockdown. It was challenging to start again after a long break but this first session was with friends making it so much easier for me. There is no denying that it was a challenging session in so many ways, not just because it was the first I did since the first lockdown in 2020, but also because it is difficult trying to keep your distance when working with children and their ponies. Nothing really went to plan, but then, out of the chaos, spontaneous opportunities arise to create memories that will last forever.

Now we are coming into Spring 2022, it’s time to start thinking about booking a photo session. Please get in touch to secure a date, as weekends and school holidays are booking up fast.

Equine Therapist Session

A few weeks back Elaine Mariani came out to visit Tiger Lily for an equine massage. Elaine is an Equine Sports Massage Therapist who specialises in a variety of therapies including, Neuromuscular Therapy, Animal Fascial Manipulation and also Equine Low Level Laser Therapy and Equine Deep Oscillation. Massage therapy is extremely beneficial for your horse, aiding in the recovery of tissue damage and removal of toxins after activity, as well as enhancing muscle tone and restoring movement. It is also proven to reduce stress, tension and induce relaxation.

Tiger Lily (pictured above) is a 15 year old Morgan who may be susceptible to laminitis, she is on a heavily restricted diet and limited turn-out to try and manage this. Tiger Lily has been feeling a little stiff so had a session with Elaine to try and losen her muscles and joints.

Tiger Lily was quite tense to start with but once she relaxed she really enjoyed her massage and she began to regain a lot of movement through her pelvis after the session. It was really interesting to watch Elaine work and see how beneficial it is for the horses. I jumped at the opportunity to get some photos of her in action.

The session ended with Tiger Lily having a once over with the Physiopod. It is a deep oscillation massage device that works by sending electrical waves into the body to help relax the muscles and joints. Tiger Lily definitely enjoyed this with her quivering lip and tilted head.



Everyone loves a Shetland!

This is a lovely image from a session I did way back in 2018. This gorgeous Shetland was free to roam around the yard and everyone loved it. I am looking forward to my next session with a Shetland this Friday!

An update from India in lockdown

It has been a fantastic start to the new season however it was sadly cut short by the corona virus! Before we were on lockdown I had the chance to go to two winter premier shows with Shelby. After a good start at Arena UK with a placing and clear in the 1.20, it set us up perfectly for Bury Farm - my last Winter premier on ponies. It was mostly exciting as my new ride Paddy was joining Shelby in competing over the two days however Shelby was due to step up a level to 1.30 in the JA winter classic which is a class where only the top ponies in the country compete. Shelby jumped incredible from start to finish, jumping clear, placing 5th and qualifying for the JA final. Paddy also jumped some super rounds in the 1 metres placing 3rd and 5th over the two days. I was extremely pleased with both of the boys. 

We were looking forward to POYS this month however due to the isolation ruling we are all staying safe at home and putting some key training in place. Both ponies have been doing small, technical exercises to improve my riding and their co-ordination and ride-abilitly. It has been very useful to get to know Paddy during this time and even without competing him I am learning about his way of going and he is also teaching me lots. Shelby is on top form which makes this lockdown even more of a shame however we are keeping him fit and in competition form so that whenever the shows do re-open he will be ready to head straight out and jump on his best form.

Black and White part 2

This is the second Black and White blog - this visual story is about Arthur who works hard around the stables to make sure his pony Honour is well looked after. He is not afraid of helping out with the bigger horses either - a true equestrian in the making!

Black and White

It is a good time to be experimenting. Sometimes the light or the bright colours can distract from the subject of the image and I find that reverting to black and white allows me to focus on different aspects. I associate black and white with newspapers so often it seems to work for me when the images are telling a story.

This is Oscar’s visual story of a riding lesson on Arthur.