On Saturday, I enjoyed a day out at Pangfield in Bucklebury - every single horse and owner were so lovely and easy to work with! After a week of scorching weather, I was so pleased that there was a cool breeze and cloud cover throughout!
We began the day at 9am with Christel and her two horses, Bo and Lizzie. We started nice and early as Bo and Christel were off to a dressage competition at the Croft in the afternoon. After showing me around the yard, I was introduced to her two horses. Baltimore van Kairos, or Bo to his friends, is a handsome dark bay gelding. After sadly loosing her top horse, and dancing partner, Conan, Bo came in to her life. Bo was a complete dude during the shoot and posed so beautifully - his freestyle floorplan includes tracks from Sex and the City as well as the theme tune from Strictly Come Dancing! Lizzie, her chestnut mare is 5 and has only been under saddle for 3 months, sired by Christel's previous horse who she sadly lost two years ago. Both horses loved the attention and Christel's outfit changes were all amazing and fitted just so perfectly with the horses coats and the surroundings.
Belinda had organised the shoot for herself and the other liveries. She had mentioned the idea to a few people and before we knew it, every slot of the day was filled! Everyone was so well prepared for the shoot and ready on time which made everything run even smoother - bonus!
Belinda owns Moose, a very handsome 17 year old Belgian Warmblood - she said back in his day he was a brilliant showjumper, but now they enjoy eachothers company out hacking. Belinda said that she's fallen "madly in love" with him and that was very clear to see! We enjoyed chatting about everything horsey in between shots.
I had the pleasure of photographing Lucy and her 10 year old Irish Sports horse, Rolo. She has owned him since last October. He has such a sweet, loving nature which is what Lucy was keen for me to capture. He was an absolute star and didn't put a foot wrong, I barely had to do anything to get his ears forward throughout. Lucy and Rolo have a wonderful friendship and that really shone through in the images. His face was so incredibly kind and him and Lucy were so lovely to spend time with!
My second shoot of the day was with Jackie and her black gelding, by the dressage stallion Jazz. As you can imagine, he can be quite the diva - we were concious of where we took DJ throughout the shoot, in order to keep him as relaxed as possible. Despite Jackie's concerns, he was a star, a very handsome one at that! His black coat had the most amazing shine to it!
Up next was Jacqui and her ex-racer, Snappy! They are a relatively new partnership but he's incredibly laid back. Together they enjoy exploring the local countryside - Pangfield Farm is located just outside Bradfield, in a little village called Bucklebury. With direct access to some of the most amazing hacking in West Berkshire, it's definetely an enviable location to be in! Snappy looked gorgeous and was a total star. Jacqui was incredibly easy to direct in front of the lense and despite only being together for a short time. I absolutely love the cape that Jacqui wore for her shoot, it was a Christmas present, but the browns, greys and oranges just look perfect against Snappy's bay coat.
My final shoot of the day was with Hailey, the yard owner of the picturesque Pangfield Farm. Many years ago, I learnt to ride at the riding school where Hailey was manager, it was nice to see her again! Her two horses, Meeka and Pico looked super all plaited up and incredibly smart in their white bandages. Hailey's husband Paul and her grooms were on hand to help as the boys were a little on their toes! Both boys are dressage divas: Meeka, the bay is 16 and Pico is 12. Hailey looked very summery in her bright pink top, and despite the boys cheeky exploits, we got some lovely shots! Their shoot finished up with some black background shots in the doorway.
I'm always concious to ensure that everyone, despite all having their photos taken at the same location, on the same day, has a nice variety between their images and everyone elses. The yard was just so lovely to photograph at, not only because the liveries were all so lovely, but the amazing choice of backdrops in such a small space was amazing. We could find about 4 different backdrops all in the space of 10 meters or so!
Thank you all so much for having me - it was a total joy and I'm so glad that you all love your photos!