Meet Sarah and her19 year old coloured cob gelding, Harvey. She describes Harvey and herself as a "hacking buddy extraordinaires!" A previous client of mine, Em had recommended me to Sarah after her session with her handsome boy, Drifter. It's always a pleasure to be recommended by someone else - at the end of the shoot, Sarah said I was just as lovely as Em had described!
I headed over to Hampshire to meet Sarah - the livery yard backs straight out on to the most gorgeous hacking, which as I mentioned above, is Sarah and Harvey's favourite activity. When I arrived, Sarah was all ready and waiting for me. We had a quick chat to begin with to work out our plan of action, before heading up to one of the fields.
Sarah and Harvey have been a partnership for 15 years - she picked him up as a youngster aged 4 from Hertfordshire and backed him herself. They've been friends since then so it was an absolute pleasure to be capturing the story and bond between these two.
We found a lovely cluster of trees to work with during Sarah's first outfit. Harvey was the most obliging model and stood perfectly throughout. I had a bucket of treats by my feet to tap and shake, which isn't always an easy feat when I'm taking photos too! Never the less, Harvey was a very happy chap and had his ears forward most of the time anyway!
As we headed back down towards the stables for an outfit change, I spotted a pretty wooden gate on the entrance to the school Sarah laughed and said she can't actually recall taking Harvey in to the school here before! They enjoy hacking several times a week both on their own and with friends from the yard.
Sarah had a favourite spot in out on the common, which is where she was keen to have photos taken. She just loves the way the trees all twist and fan together above their heads. The world always looks so much better from horseback and we appreciate and notice so many more little details. Stepping back and looking up, the natural beauty of the branches above us made for a perfect frame to the shot.
There were so many gorgeous little spots tucked away in the woodland, just a short walk from the stables, including a secluded pond tucked away behind the vegetation. Harvey was particularly excited by this part of the shoot because there was lots of lucious grass to have a nibble on!
We then headed back for an outfit change, before we left the yard for some ridden shots back down in the woods, we snapped a few shots of Sarah and Harvey looking over the stable door. On board Harvey, Sarah walked in to the distance and under that archway of trees. His magnificent tail swishing away.
The shoot concluded with some black background shots of Harvey. How amazing does he look, his markings stand out so beautifully against the darkness behind! Thank you so much for having me, Sarah. It was such a fun morning and I'm so pleased you love the photographs!