If you have ever met Ellie, I can pretty must promise that she left a huge impression on you. Ellie is one of the sweetest people ever, and I was so excited when she won a little giveaway I did a couple of years back right before Pin Oak. She was in the midst of looking for a new horse, and unfortunately things didn’t work out and she wasn’t able to attend Pin Oak. The following year when she came by my booth at Pin Oak, she was so incredibly excited about finally being able to do Black Background portraits of her horse Tino. I have to share one of Ellie’s favorite portraits of Tino first, because it shows his little silly personality. This picture isn’t a traditional shot I normally do, but it is quickly becoming one of my new favorite images to try to grab of horses that have goofy personalities. I call it the “Give me the Cookie” face.
I had so much fun with this pair, not only is Ellie the sweetest…but Tino is incredible. Not only is he a superstar in the ring, but he is also an amazing little model! We had some extra time to get some incredible detail shots that to this day are some of my absolute favorite, especially those braid pictures.
Ellie & Tino ride with Matt Cyphert at Woodhill Farm. Tino, also known as Cassipoeia Cellestin in the show ring is a 8 year old Danish Warmblood. Tino competes in the 3′ 3″ Junior Hunters & National Derbies. Ellie’s favorite memory of Tino is the first day she tried Tino. It was June 2nd, 2019, also Tino’s Birthday. She rode him that day in St. Louis and she really liked him, but wasn’t sure if he was the right horse for her. She went back the next day and rode him again, and it went really well, but the final straw was when she went back the following day she knew she needed to do one more thing before making a decision…ride him bareback. It was important to Ellie that she had a horse she could not only be competitive on, but also play around with and have fun. Tino was amazing bareback, and it is what sealed the deal. After 8 months of searching, she finally found her perfect partner.
Ellie shares that Tino loves to groom you, when you groom him. His favorite treats are carrots, and surprisingly he doesn’t really like mints. Ellie loves how much chrome he has, I agree, he is so flashy with all of that chrome. The pair’s biggest accomplishment was winning Champion in the 3’3″ at Pin Oak, and that they have gotten the coveted tri-color ribbon at 4/4 of the first shows of the year. Tino was also 2nd place in his first International Derby at Winter Series this year.
