As summer comes to an end, so does the summer series at Four Schools Farm with the final show of the series wrapping up last weekend on a beautiful Kentucky day. (Remember there is still the UK Eventing fundraiser to come on September 12!)
After wrapping up final edits on the photos from last weekend’s show Saturday night, I reflected back on what I enjoyed most and learned during what quickly turned into one of my favorite parts of this summer. Here are five of the things I loved most about shooting at one of the most beautiful arenas in Kentucky.
Expect the Unexpected
Of course the course changed from show to show to give the photos a different flare every time, but there were even notable changes from horse to horse each show. Editing the was never boring because there was something new every round. Whether it be a horse (or mule) having a different jumping style or the expressions on the riders faces, every single round was different. We all know that every horse is different, but that’s never more apparent to me than when we’re asking a group of them to do the same thing and they all approach the task a bit differently.
Partnerships
My favorite part of photographing any horse event is seeing the partnerships between horse and rider. Even when a round didn’t go the way a rider hoped, it was clear that each part of the partnership was trying to understand the other and often a second try had a better result. I’ve been around horses for nearly my whole life and it never fails to amaze me that they’ll do nearly anything we ask – even if it’s something as crazy as jumping between two flamingos!
Sportsmanship
Sitting between the warm-up ring and the arena allowed me to hear the sportsmanship taking place in both areas. Compliments were flying back and forth, even if a round didn’t go as planned, as were commiserations if a rider had an issue on course.
Another fun thing was watching the on-going races to set up jumps. While there was a great, dedicated crew in the ring, the amount of times someone from outside the ring jumped in (no pun intended) to set up a jump made me feel like I was watching Track and Field at the Olympics.
Candids
One of the best parts of editing the photos from the shows were the candids I shot. Expressions over the jumps by horse and rider were different from one pair to the next but my favorites overall were the ones when I was “sneaking” (as much as one can with as loud a shutter as my camera has) some shots of competitors before or after their rounds. My location again made this easier with the warm-up ring and the arena next to each other. The warm-up ring overlooking the arena made for even better candid shots of teams preparing for rounds or discussing how a rider was going to handle the course.
Learning
Even though I’m a western rider, I always take lessons away from other disciplines and this series was no different. I’ll likely never jump a course but watching the way riders handled their lines gave me ideas for things to practice with my own horse to improve our barrel pattern. My goal whenever I go to any equine event is to learn something that will improve my own horsemanship and that was reached at each of the shows.
From a photography standpoint, this was the first show series I did as a show photographer vs. as a journalist or getting shots for social media and it was also the first I’ve shot with my new-to-me camera equipment. There was a learning curve involved with that and a lot of brainstorming after each show on what I could do differently, which was seen in the photographs from June to now. Everything I took away from the series photography-wise will definitely help in the future no matter what I’m photographing. As a racing photographer I don’t often shoot jumping but it’s safe to say I’ve got the bug now and you’ll (hopefully) see me at more shows in the future!
To see the photos from all three Four Schools shows, visit https://pyroismedia.shootproof.com.