2009 Horse Calendar!

The year is drawing to a close and 2009 is around the corner. What better way to keep track of your life than to look at at a different beautiful horse every month on the pages of my 2009 "Horse of Ontario" calendar. To order your copy check out my calendar page. I have only printed a very limited quantity so don't wait too long or they will be gone.

My cover this year features the beautiful foal, Wicket, from Back of Beyond Equine Centre .

Many other breeds are featured such as Arabians, Thoroughbreds, Friesian, Paint, Paso Fino and more.

Thank you for all your support in 2008 and I look forward to photographing your horses in 2009!

Happy Holidays!

"30 Days Hath September..."

Yes I still have to say that rhyme in my head to know whether this is the last day of the month or not. Where, oh where did summer go?! I don't know for sure but as always it was quickly swallowed up by September, which, btw, is my favourite month.

The bugs mostly go away, the cool nights make it heavenly to sleep with the bedroom window open. The kids go back to school and sports, and a routine is set up once more. This is all well and good but the icing on the September cake for me is the changing colour of the leaves. The brilliant reds, oranges and yellows against a vibrant blue September sky never cease to leave me wonderstruck!! Seriously....picture me, standing in my driveway, staring up towards the top of one the big maple trees in my yard, on a clear bright day, with a huge smile glued to my face....yup, that's how September is for me.

Gosh...I didn't even mention horses did I!? Ok I'll say this, I am starting to book shoots for the upcoming weeks. The official "I have to get my horse photographed with a backdrop of the beautiful fall colours" rush is on folks! Don't wait! Or the colour will be gone in the blink of an eye!

Happy Fall!

RCMP Musical Ride

It was with great delight that my family (minus one non-horsey daughter, plus one horsey friend of my other daughter's, plus my sister, who like me, is always up for a day spent near horses!) attended the RCMP Musical Ride at the Oro World Fairgrounds. Sorry I have to snicker at the name....if you've ever been to the fairgrounds, you'll know that whoever chose that name ("World") was very ambitious indeed ;o) Just jesting...it's a lovely place...really!

Their was other entertainment before the RCMP came on; the OPP were there with their police dogs doing some awesome demos. The Horse Haven Drill Team (I am one of their sponsors) also put on a wonderful performance, as well as some gamers and their horses did some demonstrations.

Some of my favourite photo ops came before the RCMP came on, when they were warming up in a back field with a beautiful backdrop of green, the sun shining, and my new Canon 40D working it's magic! If you'd like to see more images from this day, visit my flickr site.

CanAm 2008

My sister and I made the annual journey to the CanAm show in London, Ontario this past Friday. We are always amazed at the number of friends and clients we run into every year, which seems to grow exponentially. I fear I would be a danger if I were a horse owner at this event with it's feast of all things horsey that can be bought. Happily, my only purchase was an Ariat one shouldered back pack, entirely practical and chartreuse in colour. Yes, not being a horse owner was definitely an asset. I was able to pass by the vendors with an apologetic smile and a shrug of the shoulders..."Sorry, don't have a horse..." as they pushed bridles, how-to books, horse trailers, and worming medicine at me.

We decided to buy tickets to the always entertaining Extravaganza in the evening. It was a bit rough around the edges compared to other years. The sound system went out for a bit, the lighting wasn't done well, a little girl fell off her pony when it bolted during the Haflinger breed demo, and one of the trick horses wasn't very cooperative. Nonetheless a few acts made up for it. My favourite again is the beautiful Andalusian stallion Acierto and his flamboyant owner, Laura Amandis. I think they were at their best this year. A new act this year was led by an Andalusian as well. This stunning white horse named Blanco is an equine actor, and was in 2 of the Lord of the Rings movies as Gangalf's mount, Shadowfax. He will also be in the upcoming Hercules movie. I think the crowd gasped in delight when he came out with wings on and galloped around the arena with his trainer dressed as a fairy in white. Magical!

A Girl & her Horses

Since winter seems to be hanging on by it's frosty nails and doesn't seem to want to relinquish it's hold to spring, I shall continue to post photos of horses in the snow.

Although it was a dull day back in December when I visited Nicole and her horses for a photo shoot, the soft lighting proved to be very flattering for the teen and her horses. Apache and Irish were very willing subjects and put on quite a show for the camera. There was quite a bond between the paint and appaloosa and their owner. I hope that shows through in the images. You can visit their Horse of the Week pages here: Apache & Irish .

Have a great March break!

Forest Gait Farm

Yesterday the girls had a day off school so my youngest and I packed our camera bags and headed to my sister's in Palgrave. From there we, in addition to my niece (a horse lover as well), made the drive through the beautiful Caledon countryside to Georgetown, home of Forest Gait Farm Paso Finos. This is where my sister's horse, Alberto la Manana, resides with many of his Paso Fino friends. My sister's dog, Niko, came along for the ride also. Niko has been lonely since the passing of the other family dog, Lucky, this past February, so he likes to come and visit the resident lab, Lucy. Not to be forgotten is the barn kitty, Spooky, who was my constant companion throughout the day.

The weather was gray, and for the most part the rain held off. Days like these can make for some lovely atmospheric photography.

After a lunch of the best tuna melt I ever had, the girls headed to the barn where they got a lesson in grooming the very patient Pachanga, the senior horse at Forest Gait. Then all tacked up, they each got to be led through the forest on a trail ride. What fun!!

I was in horse heaven, and shot a couple of hundred photos throughout the day of horses, kids, dogs and cats.

Other than Alberto of course, my next favourite equine of Forest Gait is the resident stallion, Postin de Petrolero. Postin is a stunning example of the Paso Fino breed, and has the coveted disposition of the Petrolero line. A gentleman and a sweetheart, I could have photographed this horse all day. I made a promise to Postin that I would get him on the cover of a horse magazine some day ;o)

After grooming Postin for a bit, he did the natural thing and rolled in the mud...what a character! Even dirty...he's still pretty!

I will be back at Forest Gait as there will be a new baby soon that I will HAVE to photograph. Postin's first at this farm. The Mom is Captiva, a striking black Paso Fino mare that has been Postin's common law wife since they made a baby ;o).

Thanks to Jeannie for having us to her farm for the day!

Can Am

My sister and I headed to London, Ontario on the 16th of March to attend a couple of days of the horse expo, Can Am, as we did last year.

We saw lots of old friends and made some new. I saw several people from Orillia there including Lori, Carol and Sarah as well as Carol and Todd. Also some past clients from the Meadows in Uxbridge, nice to see you all again!

Lots of the Paso Fino group were there and my photos were on display at the ECPFHA booth. The beautiful Paso Fino stallion, Cavalier QC from Ambleside was there representing this wonderful breed.

I also got a chance to meet the some of the people behind Equine Wellness Magazine and they were even giving away free copies of the latest issue with my photo of Monty on the cover (my second cover with this magazine!).

The Friday night Extravaganza was wonderful again and despite my backbreaking seat in the bleachers, I managed to take quite a few photos of it.

Well the only downside to the weekend was my back failing me, and the hellish night at the Hilton on their soft beds. Thanks to my sister for being my crutch and putting up with my whining and tears.