Claire, Clairvoyant, is a Holsteiner mare. Her sire is Catoki, his dam is Padura III. She is owned by Bottom Line Equestrian and driven by Leighton. The pair trains with Foxglen Farms in Argyle, TX with Jim and Joan Hensen.
Claire the Wonder Mare is a sweet flea-bitten grey with dapples that lives for brown bananas and mane scratches. Leighton saw her and immediately fell head over heels but the timing wasn’t quite right the first time around. Leighton’s sister tried her out initially but decided to go in a different direction at the time.
Over the next couple of years, Leighton spent time honing her skills on lease ponies and various barns but when it was time to move up to a children’s jumper she was more than pleased to find Claire once again. Claire is a brave jumper who ensures Leighton’s safety whenever she can. she jumps a 3-foot fence like it’s nothing. She just hops over it, as if it were made of air. She saves me a lot in the show ring, and at home. If I tip, she does her best to hop over the fence and make it look like I did nothing wrong. She listens to me when I ask her to do something, and she will never refuse or duck out on a fence, as long as I am confident about it. My favorite thing about her is probably her personality. She loves everything and everyone, and pets and kisses and treats.
“My favorite memory would be from December of 2020, at the barn, we did something different than usual. We had a fun and games tournament, I guess you would say. We just played a bunch of games with the horses, while mounted, like pole weaving, an egg race, and more. We were split into pairs of two, I was paired with one of my friends from the barn, and we competed with the other teams. I’m not sure who won, but it was a lot of fun.”
Leighton shares, “I first saw her when my sister and I went horse shopping, and she found her. I went to see her ride, and I immediately fell in love with her. She (the horse, and my sister) was more experienced than the height I was jumping at the time, so I kept looking, and sadly so did my sister. I kept talking about her, but we eventually found a horse I would be leasing for the year, and I stuck with her. After my lease was over, my sister wasn’t riding anymore, and I was more experienced to jump bigger heights. So we went shopping for the perfect children’s horse, and I rode her. I fell in love. So we leased her for the year, and we are now doing the children’s and I am so excited for the future ahead of us. I see a lot of blue ribbons! :)”
This prissy horse loves bananas but really LOVES them when they have the soft brown peel. However, she will eat anything.
They placed 4th in the eq over fences, out of 14. They were 6th in the under saddle out of about 16, and her favorite one was being 8th in a 2’9 hunter round, out of 38 other riders.
I love her story about how they found this special unicorn of a horse and all of the horses that got her to where she is today, “My sister was riding at the time, and I thought that was really cool, so I wanted to try it. I first rode a horse on January 2, 2014. I was nervous, but also really excited. It was magical. I wanted to keep going and eventually had my first showing the walk-trot poles on a little roan pony called Oatie. I loved her, and she was everyone’s favorite. I usually rode her, and we got along great. But sadly, my sister and I were more experienced, and we had to move barns. I started on this pony called Torchy, and I had him for a few months, but then we went pony shopping. I found Prince, a medium gray pony I had him for about a year and a half, then there was a summer when I didn’t ride because I didn’t have anything to ride. Then we found Top, the best little chestnut pony. I had him for a year, but then we moved barns again. I had my first horse, Tinsel. He was a ginormous gray horse, who I also had for a year. He was good though, but then we moved back to the barn where I had Torchy, Top, and Prince. Then I found Ravenna. My first mare in a long time., She was a sweet old thing. We went to Colorado, Katy, and more with her, we won so many classes, and at least 2 derbies. We were champion in the mods at least twice, but by then, I was ready for a children’s horse, and that’s where I am today, with Claire the wonder mare. I love having horses just because of how amazing they are. What they are capable of doing is just mind-blowing itself. I have been riding for about seven years, and I am so excited to add to that, and become a better rider as I go along.”
Karinda K. is a Houston, TX based equine photographer that travels around the United States photographing equestrians and their horses. Karinda specializes in Outdoor Horse & Rider Portrait sessions that bring to life the magical relationship equestrians share with their horses, Senior Portraits, and Fine Art Black & White Background Portraits for those that want a piece of art featuring their very own animals. Karinda accepts a limited number of private clients each year, if you are interested in having her photograph you and your horse or an equestrian in your life, you can reach the studio by sending an email to equine@karinda(.)com or calling (832)598-8715.
Portraits for Charity was an idea Karinda dreamt up to help give back to families impacted by Childhood Cancer in memory of her husband’s sister Jessica. During the 2021 Pin Oak Charity Horse Show Karinda photographed around 140 Horses, Dogs, and even Goats, and was able to donate $10,000 to Candlelighter’s Houston. These are the stories of the Horses, Dogs, and Goats that were photographed at the show, these stories complement a photographic book that Karinda is printing and donating to Texas Children’s Hospital featuring Portraits of each and every animal she photographed.
The Waiting List for Pin Oak 2022 is now open, click here to join: https://equine.karindak.com/pin-oak-2022-wait-list
If you are interested in having Karinda attend your event and host a Portraits for Charity day, send an email to equine@karindak(.)com.
