Mind Over Mutter

I spent Saturday Morning and part of the afternoon at the monthly Leon County Horseman's Association horse show.

I got some interesting shots, and I left my web address with the association and promised them copies of whatever they liked, but I wonder if the subjects-- and/or their parents-- will like them.

If they were expecting portraiture or photojournalism, they may be somewhat disappointed. While I don't have a lot of patience with folks who consider themselves self-styled "artistes," I did approach this shoot with an artists's perspective, not that of a documentarian or horsewoman.

I converted many of my color images to slightly warm monochromes, because the subject matter seemed so timeless. Mostly very young women and girls, clothing that could have been 2006, 1956, or 1906, and the sculptural beauty that is a horse...

My only regret was that so much of the competition that I was able to witness was at a walk or all but motionless... there is nothing more elegant than a horse and rider who are in total synchronization when they are in motion.

A posthumous thank you to my Dad, who taught me at a very early age to appreciate the ballet of a horse and rider. Admittedly, they were usually thoroughbreds and the ballet was often 6 furlongs in duration, but if I close my eyes I can still see the sun glinting off saddles and silks and hear and smell the massively powerful animals thundering by....

Young girls instinctively understand about Pegasus. In our hearts we know that horses really ought to be able to fly.