These blog posts are always the hardest to write. The thing we all dread as horse owners. The day we lose our best friends, our emotional support animals, our other half. I feel so incredibly lucky that I had the chance to photograph this incredible pair, and I know without a doubt these portraits will be something that Sara will cherish forever.
Chris, Chrisje, was a 10 year of KWPN Gelding that I photographed in Argyle, TX at Windswept Farms. Chris was Sara’s junior jumper but unfortunately, when I photographed Chris he had been sick for the past few years and the pair had been through an emotional rollercoaster of setbacks. Sara shared more of their story over at Noelle Floyd.
I feel like I have to explain a little more before we dig into some of my favorite Portraits from Chris’s Portraits. The first day I went to photograph Chris in Dallas, we were gifted with a lovely cold front that decided to blow through literally right before we were scheduled to start portraits. When I arrived at the barn the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees (I might be a little dramatic right here but it felt like 20 degrees) in a matter of hours. Needless to say, when it was time to go outside for portraits Chris was a little extra frisky, understandable considering he had been on stall rest for some time. We ended up calling it a day and deciding that I would come back again another day and we would try again.
It is safe to say that this special pony will be one that forever leaves a stamp on my heart, not only because of his antics but also because he really is was a total sweetheart with a puppy dog personality….yes he was frisky, and yes he may have been the first horse that I have ever had to come back to finish a session for…but even with that I still fell in love with him. I think you can tell by the pair’s portraits just how perfect they were for each other and how lucky Chris was to have found Sara to be his person through it all.
One of Sara’s favorite memories with Chris is jumping around the 1.35m on the grass field in Gulfport. “That’s how he got the nickname “Saint Chris” — I would chip or leave long and he always seemed to get me out of any sticky situations.”
When I photographed the pair, Sara shared, “Chris and I are really very similar personality-wise — very serious and focused, but have a fun and goofy side. Neither of us are very affectionate, which I actually love about him because I’ve never been a huge fan of horses that are super nosy and in your pocket. To say it was love at first ride… maybe not.. “The first time I ever tried my horse I fell off of him and told my trainer that I didn’t like him. Thankfully, my trainer made me go back one more time. Chris won a handful of junior jumper classics and placed in the THJA for two years.” But to say it was meant to be, most definitely!
