I was so incredibly excited to be able to photograph Olivia with her horses when I was in Georgia on annual road trip in 2020. Some of you may know that Pony Finals was canceled in 2020 at the very last minute due to Covid. I decided to open up applications for a special Road to Pony Finals project on my road trip, so that I could give back to a few deserving kiddos that were unable to go to pony finals and help them celebrate 2020 in a different way.
Although we photographed Olivia with Lion her pony to celebrate their journey to pony finals, we also had to include Darlin, the ever so beautiful Jumper that Olivia is also currently showing in her senior portrait session while I was at the farm. We did an early sunrise session with Olivia and per ponies, and it was absolutely beautiful with the early morning fog. The session went perfectly, well all except for Miss Darlin, who decided to roll in the Georgia red clay the morning of the session, but that is ok, because luckily Olivia had a big can of white hair spray and we were able to get that orange clay right off of her in a matter of minutes.
White spray is my favorite hack for portraits, because we all know that white horses LOVE to roll in the worst colors right before their portrait sessions happen, and this is the best way to avoid scrubbing them for hours, because let’s be honest, that is the last thing you want to do the day of your portrait session
Lion is a German Riding Pony Gelding. He lives at Malone Farms Equestrian Center in Newborn, GA, where the pair train with Merideth Bryans.
Like most ponies, Olivia describes Lion as having a HUGE personality. “I never really know what kind of ride he may give me that day. While others may not like this, I love the fact that he won’t give it to you for easy, you have to work for it. When you put in the work, he definitely rewards you. Additionally, while I might be biased, he is the absolute cutest pony in the whole world!”
17-year old Olivia started riding when she was just four years old at the Meneely Show Horses, with Rob and Mary Meneely. This is where she began to fall in love with jumping, so they moved to PLA Horseplay, with Peggy Adams, where she believed she received the best foundation not only in riding but most importantly for great horsemanship skills.
Olivia got her first pony, Darby, while at PLA. In 2014, Peggy got hurt in a freak accident and was forced to close down; she then began riding with Merideth at Malone Farms, where she rode a variety of horses and impeccable training was able to blossom. Olivia now competitively shows in the large pony hunters with Lion and high children’s jumpers with her mare Darlin Bogibo and other catch rides.
Lion was imported from Germany as a baby and trained by a lady in Tennessee. My best friend who rides at my barn, Lauren, bought Lion when she was young and even took him to pony finals his green year. Watching them ride at the barn I was never obsessed with him, even after my trainer asked me to hack him at the barn! Finally, Lauren and Merideth eventually convinced me to have a lesson on him and we haven’t looked back since.
Looking back, Olivia’s favorite memory while trying to qualify for pony finals was winning the large pony model. “It was my first win in the large pony division and out of a very competitive group as my zone is home to some of the top pony riders in the nation. Really the whole journey has been amazing; the ups and the downs have taught me so much. Pony Finals has been my dream for as long as I can remember. Trying to qualify year after year and not quite making the mark was draining but I kept my hopes up. As I was approaching my last junior year this year, I began thinking I wasn’t going to be able to fulfill my lifelong dream. I still hadn’t qualified when horse shows were halted due to COVID and that really scared me. Thankfully Meredith found an amazing opportunity with Veronica Grajeweski at Partridge Acres Farm for me to have the FULL Pony Finals experience! I couldn’t believe that I was actually going to Pony Finals. Despite not being able to fulfill my Pony Finals dream, I am so thankful to Veronica for giving me that opportunity. As well as Merideth for making me the very best rider I can be. My biggest thank you would be to my parents for always supporting me.”
