With eyes like an oasis and hair solf and flowing as silk, Carlee McCutcheon and her catch ride buddy ‘A Special Sidekick’ make a noble pair in this enchanted shoot. One can get lost in the tranquility of these charismatic smiles. Aren’t they lovely!
Some of you may be stunned to find out that her first time on this horse was on a night before she showed him. Little did she know when the sun arose that she would go on to make history that day. Carlee and A Special Sidekick went on to make the Level 4 NRHA Non Pro Futurity Finals! She is now the youngest person to ever do that! A true horsewoman gets on a horse, even if it has only been once, and she truly purposely feels and quietly listens to it and can therefore execute greatness as the two perform together. There is no doubt that this pair’s incredible success comes from a wonderful horse and Carlee’s dazzling horsemanship… she truly is reining royalty.
Carly was one of the 3 winners from the 2018 Pin Oak Charity Horse Show Giveaway. I ran into Colleen (her grandmother) at the NRBC in Katy, TX during set up which takes place right after the Pin Oak Charity horse show. Colleen mentioned how she wanted to bring Carly by to look at my fairy-tale pictures. She was unaware that Carlee had stopped by during Pin Oak and in fact, entered to win the portrait session I was giving away. Just a few days later I had my niece over at the house and I knew it was the perfect time to draw names for the Pin Oak Giveaway, and Carly’s name came out of the jar. Carly was so incredibly excited when I saw her walking by at the NRBC the next day and asked her if she had seen the email that went out with the winners for the Pin Oak Giveaway, well she hadn’t seen it yet and it took a bit to convince her that she had actually won because she was so shocked!
Carly is especially unique because she rides both the Hunter/Jumpers and does Reining, oh and she also plays basketball! I don’t know how she has time for it all, but keep it up gifted girl! I see this young lady being an inspiration to all of us as it is obvious that she works hard, exhibits joy and looks fabulously beautiful doing it.
Something that I love doing, is shopping for my client wardrobe! It is so much fun to day dream about my fairytale sessions and the perfect wardrobe to go with them. One of my favorite places to shop for girls is Joyfolie. I brought my entire client wardrobe to the farm and Carlee picked out her two favorite dresses to wear. She picked the Ophelia Dress in Baby Blue, and the Lilou Plum Dress. Oh, and I can’t forget the gorgeous crown that is also from Joyfolie.
There is another reason that this session was special to me, when I was in college I was a member of the Texas A&M Horse Judging team and we spent some time around the North Dallas area traveling to several of the farms, practicing our judging skills, and getting to meet so many phenomenal athletes. We actually visited Tom McCutcheon Reining Horses, and I remember walking away from that trip being so grateful that such amazing farms had allowed us to come visit and see their facilities and their horses. Life really does have a way of coming full circle, and it is always crazy to me when the stars line up and out of the blue you have the opportunity to pay it forward to people who have made such a huge impact on your life, even when they might not realize it. So thank you to the McCutcheon family and all of the other families that opened their farms to the Texas A&M horse judging team, I know I am not the only former judging member who feels this exact same way.
