Trotting horse in forward motion with a young girl -- the helper running in the background is coming to get the ribbons and neck ribbon for the photos.
Saddle seat exhibitor entering the ring. I've noticed that the saddle seat horses often wear red browbands -- anyone know why this is the color of choice? If you are shooting horses, this would have looked a little tighter if the rider were down on the posting rather than up.
I also like to show the judges looking at the exhibitors. This gives it a more journalistic approach and tells a whole different story. This is a horse in the trot.
The same horse at the canter with judges looking on.
Trotting horse with a higher action which is well shown at the highest point of the motion. The next photo shows it again.
Trotting with judges in the background.
Here's another trotting image, this horse has high action and a great looking long, flowing tail. Compare this horse to the two previous photos and see how the gait can vary from horse-to-horse.
I liked this because the rider is gracefully leaping down in her dismount. This horse is "parked out" which shows the horse's conformation and good manners.
Here is another horse parked out with all the helpers getting it to look good. In the next image the "action" is cropped down a bit to show horse and handler.
This image makes it seem like the horse is looking right at you, the viewer. It is so neat that the horse looking at you and it makes you want to look into the image.
Some of the behind the scenes activities, money, ribbons and the woman that probably looks familiar to almost all horse folks that have been to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
This horse has a great looking tail so you would want to include it in the photos. In case you are wondering, there are tail extensions -- aka fake tails -- and that is fairly common in the show ring.
Here is another example of the trot. This horse is moving forward nicely and looks connected from front to back.
This is a horse from the same class with a different way of going. This trot is longer and lower and looks more like a hunter stride.
Same class and a similar movement to the horse above. This is a slightly different point in the trotting stride. As you look at the three images, decide which one looks the best to your eye.
If you aren't familiar with horse movement, you might see this and think it is a trot too. Yes, there are two legs off the ground, but this is a canter. The shot still implies some forward motion and horse and rider look pretty comfortable.
This horse is coming down into a walk and going through the trot to get there. It is almost a prancing look in this image and I like the gray parts in the tail. To me, the bridle looks a little "new" but it looks good on the horse.
Line up facing your ringmaster. At this show, most of the line up was facing away from where I chose to sit. If that happens while you are practicing at a show, you may always move around to the other side to get the fronts. This image is a shape that would look nice on a Facebook profile.
I liked this one because the rider is so happy. Lots of help getting the team ready for the photos.
This is
Courtney Church, the professional photographer for the horse show. She shot images in the ring then loaded them onto a lap top in the center area to be sent out into the hallway where her booth was set up. Huge investment for these folks to give people the shots from inside the ring.
This is where the wonderful horse show music was emanating from while we were there -- not sure what to call the tunes, but I like hearing them and recalling fun times. Ribbons are in there and all the other brains that make shows come together -- plus an old timey telephone that kept ringing. Not sure what those calls were, but it was fun to hear.
This one I liked because the man and the horse are in step with each other and looking like they are having a nice time out there. All four feet are off the ground for the yearling and that adds interest for me too.
This youngster was a bit more "up" than the previous horse. The exhibitor looks like he is having fun.
All of these were shot without flash -- the pro photographer had flashes set up all around the arena so some photos came out brighter than others. This also has a Lomo filter after it came off the camera. Sometimes it is fun to play with editing tools.
This is a yearling class and sometimes the youngsters get excited. This horse was fine, which is why I have included to photo. Be ready to take pictures at any event so you can get the interesting shots like this one and the next one too.
Another youngster with lots of energy in the show ring. Keep your cameras ready.
I liked this more reflective moment of this pair. This image is cropped fairly tight to show the two of them, in the background are ring stewards, judges and this man's helper -- that would have been an entirely different shot.
More behind the scenes shots. These folks make the shows run smoothly, and one of them is the judge.
For the ranch reining class there were only two entries. The ladies walked the horses and discussed the pattern and strategies. It was nice to see the sportsmanship.
This horse is loping and even with three legs on the ground this horse looks like he is going somewhere.
Leaning and feet off the ground -- this still photo still tells you the pair is moving right along.
Mane and tail flying in the wind -- again, this tells there is some speed happening.
Same gait as the horse above, but clearly a different speed and way of going.
After the patterns the ladies and their horses are awaiting the awards.
Riding instructor coaching her student. This is a journalistic feel again, telling the story of the event.
Judges talking to the young exhibitor. I like the interactions.
A successful ride and a talk with the trainer / coach.
Another shot with the judge looking at the exhibitor and her horse. You can see the trot in this picture is not as pleasing as the shots with the horse's legs more forward in the stride.
Another example of the canter. The slight swish of the tail helps tell the story of movement.
The two sisters with their horses and the judges looking them over.
Ribbon lady and photographer making the donuts... okay, not really, but wanted to see if you were still reading.
Trotting in to line up. This is a more pleasing shot of this horse in the trot when compared to the picture of the horse on the rail earlier.
Prepping for photos. Based on where they are standing we ended up in a lot of the photos.
Western class with trot -- or in this instance, a jog trot -- at a good moment in the stride.
Lope with the judges looking on.
Another loping image with a less distracting background.
Rider coming down the rail with a little advice from the rail bird.
Judge talking with the exhibitor after a nice ride.
