Pony Pals
Recently I had dear friends invite me to go horse riding with them. It has been many years since I was last on a horse and even though the thought did cross my mind, my camera was again calling.
What a great opportunity to capture childhood friends catching up while doing something they both love, and this being what cemented their friendship all those year ago.
On the outskirts of Toowoomba we ventured and the late afternoon breeze welcomed us, along with man’s best friend times two. Goodness me they were big dogs!
What was truly rewarding about this experience is that there was no pressure to get that perfect shot. I am somewhat of a perfectionist, especially when it comes to animals ears and making sure they are always forward.
However this little outing wasn’t about that. It was an afternoon between friends who were able to enjoy their surroundings and ‘be in the moment’.
So while we were all happily oblivious to the rest of the world, I managed to grab a few shots of the girls enjoying themselves and those precious funny moments. You know…the sort of laughter that is true and genuine.
During Kate and Claire’s freedom on horseback a farrier arrived and it was time for some of Tamara’s four-legged friends to receive new shoes. This brought back many memories for all of us.
This week’s blog is a little different and that is because my dear friend Kate asked could she write something if I decided to turn our afternoon outing into something more to share. Well, how could one say no to such a beautiful person who took me under her wing all those years ago!
So without further ado….
“Hello there Coulton’s Country readers,
After working with Sarah at QCL, it is certainly nice to put some of my words to her photos again, Kate Wilcock here - joined by Claire and Tamara Bondfield.
Claire, Tammy and I met at a Pony Club camp in Warwick more than 20 years ago and we have accumulated a lot of photos of us on horses since then.
But like many from the horse world, the majority of our pictures are of us riding and are mostly focussed on the horse and how it is working.
Looking through old photo albums I found only a handful of pictures of us together with our horses, despite the many hours and days all over the country-side that were spent together.
And just as many pictures that were not quite right, with a horse’s leg or a head cut off as mum tried (and failed - sorry mum!) to get all of the horse and rider in the photo.
So despite the many photos, I’ve never had photos as lovely and candid as the ones Sarah took. It is so wonderful to have a series of photos that shows the friendship and the fun we have out riding.
I would have never thought of getting ‘portraits’ with us and the horses - but seeing what Sarah was able to capture was just fantastic.
Thanks again Sarah for capturing some snippets of our ride”.
When I opened the letter from Kate I was expecting something somewhat different to what I read. I am still humbled that she could speak so highly of my work and be so kind in her words.
Thank you to Kate and Claire for being great friends and here’s hoping we share many more moments like these for plenty of years to come! Thanks also to Tamara who allowed us to visit her beautiful home and freeze some moments in time.
Until next time – happy snapping,
Sarah
PS The girls grabbed the camera and captured this one of me while we were out and about. Thanks ladies - You're the best!
