January 4, Being Seen

Yesterday I showed you a little bit of Ella. Today we see a little more. We see the little girl who controls the big horse with the big will. It’s a wonderful show of power and control and I will always be impressed by those who can.

I – I will stay safely behind my lens.

Not In Our Home

The girl is an animal lover and on my way to yet another equestrian meet last month, she texted me, “I have a surprise for you when you get here.”

She never brags about her equestrian accomplishments – she leaves that to me – so when I read the text (at a red light), I knew exactly what she meant.

She fell in love with another animal that she wants to bring home.

I had an hour to reminisce about what animal I was going to say no to. Was it another donkey? Or perhaps a cat with only one eye?

When I got there, I saw this beautiful dog.

And I knew… he was a young dog and had a really sweet and gentle nature, you just wanted to hug him. He’s up for adoption and needed a new home – but not our home.

He was introduced to big horses for the first time that day and this is how he reacted.

“Hmmm…I wonder what that big animal is?”

“Yawn…boooorring…”

“Wait – is she going to fall off?”

“Oh well…how long is this meet going to last anyway?”

We’ve asked that question quite a few times ourselves! What a lovely dog – and no we didn’t bring him home.

January 1, Happy New Year!

This is a most wonderful occasion isn’t it? A new year!

My resolution? To be more centered in His will. To be more spiritual. And to eat less.

In that order…Happy 2012!

December 23, Madness Is Relative

I love this horse though I think he was slightly mad. He kept poking his head out of his stall and neighing at me then immediately go back inside only to come out a few seconds later to do the same thing.

It’s the craziness of the Christmas season. It’s getting to him too!

Don’t let it get to you! It’s Friday but Christmas Eve is tomorrow night. Everything is still and bright. And it will be alright.

Madness is a relative term. Say Merry Christmas to someone today!

An Early Christmas Work Of Art

Between the windows and above the bed of the girl’s room is a spot that, unknown to the girl, I preserved for a special piece of art.

A wonderful artist, musician and friend, Daniel C Palmer painted this watercolor piece of art for the girl. It was a year ago that he offered to do it. And four days before Christmas, he delivered.

It’s beautiful! It’s the girl and jumping Joker and he captured the movement and power of Joker perfectly. I will frame it and hang it above her bed. The girl is thrilled.

Daniel also sings, and plays the guitar – and the piano – and the bagpipes.

And he’s also quite handsome. Here’s his website – http://danielcpalmer.com/.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Can’t See The Forest For The Trees

Last Sunday was one of those “rush” days. A calm Sunday is my most favorite day. A rushed Sunday is my least.

I spent most of my time getting ready for – everything – and I may have lost sight of the fact that it’s a day of worship and a day of competition and good sportsmanship. I was too engrossed in finding a hair net and programming a GPS that I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

And all I saw were trees. They were always in my way.

- And fences too. This is the girl protesting my lens again.

I dropped the girl off with a friend for a ride up to the farm. Then I went to church for an extra special service with baptisms. After church was an hour drive to the farm where the girls’ were having their meet – therefore the GPS.

We got there just as the girl was starting her course. I didn’t have time to find the perfect vantage spot so I just started shooting where I was standing – apparently in front of a bush.

I couldn’t find any of the girls from the farm either. If I didn’t see the girl in the ring, I would have thought we were at the wrong farm – again.

After the meet was over, one of the trainers approached me as we were leaving and said, “There you are! We didn’t think you were here.”

Of course we were there. We were just behind a tree.

Ahhh…the life of a photographer mom. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Posted on Photostory Friday.

November 18, Jumping For Joy

It’s Friday! I’m jumping for joy. Though I’ve had a good week, the boy on the other hand had the week from h-e-double-hockey sticks.

So I’m glad for him.

I am turning my thoughts to Thanksgiving dinner. We will be traveling to my parents’ home but they won’t be there. They are in Thailand, where they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving and on top of it, there has been historic flooding. The last time they were in Thailand there was a coup so we’re looking on the bright side.

We’re celebrating Thanksgiving in their house anyway. Thanksgiving will come one way or the other, thank goodness!

October 19, Grooming & Care

It’s nice to see the girl with a horse again. Watching her care for horses fills my heart.

For Outdoor Wednesday.

The Ants & The Grasshoppers

I got up bright and early this morning to take the girl to her first field hockey tryouts for the year. For the past month, she has been saying that she needs to condition because the season was coming up. And she needs to be in shape. And she’s going to start – tomorrow.

Well, it’s here – surprise! Summer’s over.

It’s like the story of the ant and the grasshopper. The girls who were ants did not falter in the mile run.

The girls who were grasshoppers and were having fun riding their horses all summer fell behind and wanted to throw up.

But then again . . . the grasshopper had the most fun didn’t she?

This is the girl riding Peanut at one of her grasshopper (i.e. fun) events.

She decided to ride Peanut for this cross country camp because Ella was – slow.

And Peanut is not.

Peanut may be fast – but unlike Ella, Peanut is undisciplined.

Peanut will sometimes run to the jump and decide on her own that she doesn’t want to jump it. And goes around the jump instead.

And then the girl’s jump partner will do the jump instead.

Come on Peanut! You gotta jump them all!

Peanut will then fall behind because she loses her momentum.

Uh – what just happened?

Alright, it’s catch up time.

Peanut may not like to do all the jumps -

- but she loves to race.

And she’s fast . . .

That pony doesn’t like to lag behind – until the next jump.

As you can see, grasshoppers have a lot of fun in the summer. Then it’s time to harvest energy for the field hockey season. And the ants who did their conditioning are probably running circles around the grasshoppers right now.

X Country Girls

I just came inside from trimming bushes and spraying weeds and I can attest that it’s as hot as blazes out there. Bloody hot. Hot enough to swear like an Englishman. I took the girl to the farm again today, I guess it doesn’t matter what the weather is like. It’s never too hot to go to the farm.

The week before we took off for another time zone (we’re still not recovered by the way) the girl spent a week riding in wheat fields and country roads. She loved it. Horses, horses and more horses . . .

I showed up on the last day to snap some photos and the requests started coming in fast and furious. “Can you take a picture of me?”

You know how I don’t like to say no.

But there’s a lot of pressure that comes with it. Most of the time, I’m shooting by the seat of my pants and I get one chance – that’s one chance – to capture a girl over a fence/stump/barrel – whatever.

Some of them came out well, like this one of Beth-girl.

But most came out like this. Sorry Morgan.

I’m glad I got this one of Georgia-girl. She’s so adorable and Mischief is just her size. I’m glad she got to ride with the “big” girls that week.

Precious.

Here’s one I like of Kayla-girl – she’s not just jumping a horse, she’s jumping a horse while looking backward at her jumping partner. These girls are amazing.

Since it was a cross-country session, I wanted to keep the cross country “feel.” I really didn’t know how to do that but like I said before, I was shooting from the hip. I hope the following photos will give you the cross country feel without the scratches from the brambles and the bug bites.

Here’s my girl riding a little pony named Peanut. More on that pretty pony later.

They dip behind a hill as I follow with my lens.

They almost disappear – it’s truly cross country!

They start their climb up the hill again – I know this is riveting.

And she crests the bluff (like in Wuthering Heights) and my focus goes from grass to girl.

I used to wonder as a girl whether Heathcliff had a last name. I just googled it, apparently he doesn’t.

Now that’s a cute little pony!

When the last girl did her course, I turned to walk back to Miss Tina and saw that she was the center of a large circle of horses.

Miss Tina is an incredible woman to be able to handle all those horses and all those girls. She’s tough too. One of the girls wrote on her facebook wall the other day that  a true compliment from Miss Tina is a like a little present.

An equestrian mom once told me that she asked her daughter a hypothetical question about drugs. Of whom would she be more afraid – her mom or of Miss Tina?

Her answer was categorically certain. Miss Tina.

Way to go Miss Tina, keep those girls in line – or in a circle as it were.

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