I'm glad y'all liked Mr. Morris's take on my....
style in riding Charlie haha. It's unique, that's for sure!
Honestly I'd been itching to do Jan's blog hop on the subject for actual weeks but had a hard time choosing exactly the right image for the purpose.
Luckily (?), my favorite local show photographer
GRC Photo had their annual Veterans Day sale so I snagged the 15 image digital package for 25% off, with proceeds donated to veterans wellness organizations.
Knowing this sale would eventually roll around, over the course of the season I'd been squirreling a couple images from each show they photographed away in their "favorites" file on the site.
The company usually brings their trailer to Loch Moy shows, where they'll do an on-site special of every single image they took throughout the day on a thumbdrive for $99. My favorite deal ever and why I always have so many photographs from Loch Moy shows lol.
For the shows without the trailer on-site, they can only offer more standard pricing packages. And as much of a media junkie that I admit to being... Well. Let's be real. Charlie and I aren't exactly the most photogenic pair.
Especially over smaller fences where the horse just kinda looks ridiculous hurling his body over them.
But also over relatively larger fences too where I'm certain to have made some pilot error or another en route to the jump haha. Plus typically I ride a little tighter than normal during competition just by nature of nerves and atmosphere.
So none of these photos really had me dying to click "buy" at full price. But I knew, just
knew, that once the sale rolled around, I'd be happy to at least have a couple nicer shots of us out there doin our thang.
And honestly tho? Like, sure we're always our own worst critics when it comes to evaluating pictures of our own riding. I can look at every single one of these pictures and find a reason to cringe. Or, less harshly, objectively identify small adjustments I can make to eventually improve the entire picture.
Because I
*do* study images of my riding. And I do learn from them.
But... I also just prefer having a picture that makes me wish I was a little better vs having no pictures at all. And of course Charlie is always easy on my eyes so that helps haha. So in my world, I choose to enjoy the photographs, imperfections and all.
And as imperfect as many of these images are, mostly what I see is a happy and enthusiastic horse hiccuping along whatever path his rider sets for him. And even when I don't make it as easy on the horse as I could.... he seems more or less pretty cool with it.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: The later half of this season was pretty tough for me and Charlie to find a consistent groove. Especially leading up to what proved to be our final outing of the season, Fair Hill in September, we had a decidedly less than ideal preparation in terms of schooling and fitness. And. Ya know. It showed haha.
But that doesn't (or shouldn't, at least) cloud my judgement beyond recognizing what an incredible season it really was for me from start to finish. Bc let's remember, last winter and early spring I had a hard time even imagining riding Charlie in all three phases, he was
that green.
But. We did it! And this horse is one hell of a ride :)
We've got a long few months of winter to survive (including the slow but steady rehab, and you'll never guess who did a few strides of CANTER this week omg!). But part of what keeps me going, keeps me focused and motivated, is looking back on all these pictures of what was without a doubt a FUN season of eventing.
So. Happy Friday, everyone! Hope those of you staring down the barrel of a long winter are also able to find ways to stoke that fire, or at least keep the bed of embers smoldering, even as we settle in for a period of relative quiet!
I love looking back on show photos. Such great memories!
ReplyDeletedefinitely agreed!
DeleteI like the photos of you and Charlie riding. You both always look so enthused. there's a lot to love about these too.
ReplyDeleteha thanks! we certainly try to have a little fun with it!
DeleteYour photos shows both horse and rider who are happy to be out there and to me that’s what matters the most. Down here the shows are still rolling along and I feel more motivated than ever. Now come summer? I’ll be in hiding.
ReplyDeletejealous y'all still have shows haha! we might still have a few here or there (i haven't really checked) but the ground is already turning to winter mud. blah. oh well! we do what we can, right?
DeleteI love looking back on show pictures :) It's fun to see the changes over the years! Also lucky that your local photographer has a sale every year! I understand not wanting to buy some pictures at full price b/c they're good but not great, but at a cheaper price YES! But I do usually buy the show photos at the show for the special so there wouldn't be that many pictures to buy at the sale, still a great idea though!
ReplyDeleteyea i usually buy at the show when they have the special price too - but that's only possible when they have their trailer on site (otherwise it's just some guys sitting in a field with a camera lol - they can't exactly process any transactions!).
DeleteLovely pictures! It will be so fun to put these next to some big ass fences in a year or three :)
ReplyDeletelol we shall see!
DeleteI love that you are smiling in so many if not all of them.
ReplyDeletehe is a FUN horse to ride ;)
DeleteIt's always easy to critique ourselves, but photos are one thing I've never regretted spending money on! They're great memories to have and will be so much fun to look back on one day when Intro was just a blip on the radar!
ReplyDeleteagreed completely! i love having the photos and have already learned that something i don't fully appreciate today might be particularly special at some later date. ya never know!
DeleteAnother great perk of having show photos is that sense of shock and awe and gratitude when you realize... that lovely creature is MY HORSE and he is AMAZING! <3
ReplyDeleteha yup - i'm pretty grateful to call charlie mine <3
DeleteI love that trotting in the water picture! Ya, most of us here in Manitoba are already hitting that "lets look at all our pictures, cause we can't even ride anymore" phase because of smow and horrible weather. Sigh. It's going to be a tough wait for next spring's xc derby!
ReplyDeleteaw i like that pic of us trotting through the water too! that was our first time seeing water on course in competition without getting any penalties at it!!! (the event before that we had been eliminated at the water soooooo yea haha).
Deleteand yea. long tough wait for what will hopefully be a solid 2018. all we gotta do is hang in there!
Well, didn't know this sale was going on - definitely overlooked the emails. Finally nabbed some photos from our fall HT!
ReplyDeleteoh gooooood !!! yea they're one of the few places whose email's i'll read, since they do typically have a couple baller sales a year. hope you love your shots!
DeleteYay for some canter!! Love the pictures!
ReplyDeletegotta admit - it felt pretty awesome to canter that horse again! we didn't attempt to like, turn, or anything advanced like that haha -- but it was still pretty awesome :D
DeleteThat developing bascule though <3
ReplyDeleteright????? like he's a pretty flat jumper and often has to lift off from awkward places... but he is learning how to use himself all the same! slowly but surely!
DeleteI think what I love the most is that I can tell you're having fun in every single one of these photos. You may not be smiling in a few, but you can just tell you're happy, and that Charlie is, too. You two are a great pair, and while things were cut a little short, you two had an AWESOME season. <3
ReplyDeleteyep we had a lot of fun this year and for that i'm grateful!
DeleteGorgeous photos! What I love most is how happy you both look!
ReplyDeleteI love all of these SO much! The thing that always come through with your photos of your journey with Charlie is your smile! It says everything anyone needs to know. He's so keen and game, you're going to have a blast with him next year. Hope to see you out there!
ReplyDeleteI love you guys. You guys look so great!!
ReplyDelete