Montanvale Carriage Show

I recently spent the day photographing a carriage show at Wayne and Ruthann Gavitts' Montanvale Farm in Forksville, Pennsylvania. As you can see it was a lovely fall day, the best time of year in this part of the world!
Here's the link. Make sure you check out the Coach Dog class photos!

Larry Bason is shown driving the Gavitt's veteran campaigner, Mohamed Knockout, a National Show Horse. "KO", as he is known has shown at the Arab shows with the whole Gavitt family for many years but I got the idea by the way he trotted by me that he really loves being driven! I joked with Larry later that I was surprised they didn't get a speeding ticket :)

I have been photographing the Gavitt and Bason families for many years and it is always a joy for me to photograph horses that are happy and the familes that love them.

Mythilus

This morning we heard the sad news that Courtney King's horse Mythilus died during colic surgery. I have been a huge Courtney fan for many years and have spent some time with Courtney and her horses. To me she is the epitome of horse(wo)manship. She truly cares for her horses and she is a pleasure to watch ride as she has such a strong connection with her horses. In the fall of 2007 she welcomed a group of us during our fall EPNet workshop to her home at Sunnyfield Farm in Bedford, NY and we got a chance to photograph her at home with her horses and little dog Viva. We followed her and Mythilus through her highs and lows at the Olympics and showed us what true sportsmanship is all about.

I know all too well how hard it is to lose a horse and have spent a lot of time thinking about her today. This is a link that was made using many of the photos we took aduring our workshop and really describes the love Courthey feels for her horses.

Beautiful Autumn

The colors are peaking here in the western Catskills and I have had some fun getting creative with slow shutter speeds. This is my favorite time of year despite the fact that winter is right around the corner!