Posts Tagged ‘photography
The Best of the Best
So last time I posted I showed some photos of my Christmas Card Mishap. Today I’m sharing the good ones! It wasn’t all chaois during our Christmas Photoshoot, so here’s the Trick Ponies at their finest!
So..which one do you think my parents chose to feature on their Christmas card? Which is your favorite? I’d love to know!
Three’s a Crowd
So as I posted before, my parents decided to feature the Trick Ponies on their Christmas Card this year. The idea was simple – get them to stand together holding fake berry swigs in their mouths. The reality was – its never that easy.
I knew I probably should have worked them on targeting a stationary spot on the ground first (like a carpet scrap or piece of wood), but of course I never got around to it. I have taught all of my boys to stationary target the pedestal. Meaning when I put out their pedestal – get them upon it and ask them to stay put, they will all do so. (well Boomerang needs a bit more practice with this one). But since I only have one pedestal, the problem arose, how do I get all 3 of them to stand together? The answer is – I never actually did! Ha!
In fact, I have never worked all three together at the same time. Not because I don’t want to – but mainly because I didn’t want utter chaos, and currently Minnow is the only one I trust to “behave” properly when the food pouch comes out and there are competitors for the treats.
So anyway – that will all be a task for another day…now onto the Christmas Card. Below are a series of outtakes from the attempt at a Christmas Card (all before the sun set). I did end up getting some nice ones, but I will have to save those for another post. I hope you enjoy a good laugh at my attempt to “corral the wild Chincoteague Ponies”.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
The Wedding Guest
Our Wedding
On Sunday (October 4th) marks the 1 year anniversary for my husband and I. 1 year ago I married my high school sweetheart of 7 years and my best friend. From the very beginning we knew we’d be married someday. We spent our senior year of high school together and continued on to college together- both obtaining art degrees. And when the day came that I knew we would finally be married…..there was only one guest that I absolutely had to have at my wedding (well aside from my family).
Me and the girls
And that was Chincoteague Minnow. Minnow has been with me nearly as long as my husband has. My husband was there the day that I brought Minnow home to live with me – as a free lease from a family friend. And for 6 years Minnow has tagged along with my husband and I as we graduated high school, left for college (Minnow came with us), and then started our lives together. Minnow taught my husband to ride and appreciate horses and he taught me more than I ever could have imagined. I’ve always said that Minnow is a once in a lifetime horse, and it was only fitting that he should attend our wedding.
The Boys
So in May of last year I started the daunting task of searching for a wedding venue. No easy task when you want to have a horse as a guest. My mom was thrilled with the idea and we schemed about what Minnow would do/be in the wedding. My mother-in-law was a bit on the fence about the idea, but she willingly went along. I’m probably known as the horse crazy daughter-in-law. Many places laughed in my face when I said I wanted my horse IN the wedding, while others seemed quite willing to accommodate. I finally settled on a place that happened to be right across the street from where Minnow was living at the time – a nature conservancy that had an old mansion to accompany it. And then came the task of figuring what Minnow would do in the wedding.
Minnow walks down the isle with my sister
My mom jokingly told me that I should have Minnow be the flower girl – I don’t think she had any idea that I would take the idea seriously. I decided that I would train Minnow to throw flowers out of a basket as he walked down the isle. I knew that if I could teach Minnow to paint that it would be totally plausible for him to learn this. In fact he picked it up after 2 days of training. Below is a video of the training process that my husband filmed.
My husband tolerates the love that Minnow and I share
Once friends and family began to hear rumors that there would be a “Flower Pony” at the wedding I was met with much skepticism. In their minds it was one thing to have a horse at the wedding (I’m sure they were thinking horse drawn carriage) but to have him actually walk down the isle – and throw flowers? Most people asked me – what will you do if he leaves a stinky surprise behind? and won’t the crowd scare him? what if he runs into the audience? I usually responded with none of that will happen – I know Minnow. And I really did.
My sister and Minnow
If I had thought about having him attend 2 years earlier I would have said there is absolutely no way that he’ll be calm. Infact 2 years earlier Minnow was terrified of almost everything – I could barely even handle him at a horse show. So to think that only 2 years after his trick training and all around clicker training began that I would be having him walk down a wedding isle with hundreds of people was kinda crazy. But Minnow and I pulled it off – as I knew we would. I think he knew that this was important to me.
The Flower Pony
October 4th, 2008 came and I was so excited! Not just to marry my high school sweetheart – but also to prove my friends and family wrong as my little Minnow walked down my wedding isle. I also think I was proving to myself, that I knew this pony, and I knew that he would make me proud. It was sort of a culmination of what Minnow and I had learned together over the years. Clicker training completely changed our relationship – but would it be enough to ward off a horse’s natural instincts and the desire to run from anything frightening. Not only that but I was not going to be the one walking Minnow down the isle – my little sister would. And as much as I try to impress my teaching methods on my sister – she has little patience for the training techniques I use, and she’s not “connected” to Minnow the way that I am.
So as I peeked through the trees that day, I watched as Minnow stepped up onto the stone ledge infront of my guests. I watched as he marched infront of them dropping flowers as he passed. And I watched as he walked up the steps. No stinky surprise, no freak out, nothing. I was so proud.
(sorry I don’t actually have the real wedding video to show you – I still haven’t seen it! If you are reading dad….is it ready YET?)
The wedding party
What made the day even better (well other than the fact that I got married) was that as an EXTREMELY generous wedding gift, Minnow’s owners decided to give him to me. I was so happy. I knew that they would probably never ask for him back, but in the back of my mind I always worried that one day they would want him again. Knowing that he would be with me forever was one of the most wonderful things I could have ever asked for. I found out that he was to be mine while I was on my honeymoon in Nicaragua. So when I returned home the first thing I did was rush to the barn so that I could whisper in Minnow’s ear that he would always be with me.
So thus ends my enchanting wedding story. Does anyone else have a story about a horse in a wedding? Am I the only crazy person to teach their horse to throw flowers down the isle? Do tell.
If this isn’t a convincing enough story as to why you should try clicker training with your horse, I don’t know what is.
Photography courtsey of Daniel Williams Photography. Aren’t they amazing? Hire him!
Speed Racer
One Way Ticket...because she's never coming back
Meet One Way Ticket, or as we call her, Jet. Jet came to live with us several years ago as my little sister’s new horse. We found her through a friend and she had been living as a children’s hunter pony. The young girl who owned her had named her GEM (which were actually the child’s initials) – we definitely didn’t keep the name. So with a little letter rearranging she became Jet – which fits her PERFECTLY. Infact, we were really surprised the child didn’t sell her sooner, because she was an awful hunter pony. Not that she didn’t try, but Jet was just destined to be something else. That something else had to involve racing, because Jet only knows one speed and its warp speed. This Morgan cross was a New Holland rescue at the age of 3 (New Holland is a local PA horse auction where most damaged and unwanted horses go – many end up in bad homes or worse bought by the meat packers) and I’m convinced she’s got to be part Thoroughbred.
Jet not only gallops fast, but she speed walks everywhere she goes. Speed walks to the pasture, speed walks while she grazes. Jet would probably scare most people because of her need to speed, but not my sister. My sister, Laurel, and Jet are perfectly matched. Laurel is a bit of a daredevil (I guess you have to be to play mounted games) and she enjoys Jet’s constant power walk through life. I consider Laurel a rogue rider, partially because while growing up she refused any formal horseback training. True we both went through the levels of the United States Pony Club, but Laurel hated everything that wasn’t fast and forget about getting her to take a riding lesson. Me on the other hand, I studied under numerous trainers, progressed my way through the Dressage levels and enjoyed learning what I could from everyone. There isn’t anything wrong with Laurel’s riding preferences but sometimes I wondered if we were really related.
See technically speaking, Laurel is one of the worst riders. She doesn’t know how to use her leg when riding, she barely uses her seat and relies mostly on hand aids. But somehow this works for Jet, Laurel uses gentle rein pressure to steer her, and Jet is extremely sensitive to the neck reining aids. I’m telling you they are the perfect match. I truly hate riding Jet – rare for me to say about a horse. Jet and I have a love hate relationship. Jet hates me because I have long lanky legs (as opposed to my sister’s short legs) and I like to wrap them around her fat body. I also like to steer with my seat and my legs as opposed to my hands. Jet HATES this.
Jet and Laurel
I went through a period of time where I didn’t have a horse to ride. Minnow had just been diagnosed with ringbone and pronounced unrideable. So on occasion I had taken to riding Jet. I ended up taking her to a local mounted games clinic despite the fact that we really weren’t a good match…I mostly just wanted to ride. Long story short, Jet crashed me into another rider and horse as we flew in to a handoff. She was not too happy with me because I was apparently using too much seat and leg with her (I mean really what horse wants you to pull on their face…I really don’t get it) so she opted to ignore my aids and POWER through the horse infront of me. Really we just brushed the other horse – everyone was fine…except for me. I somehow took a stirrup to my shin (at top speed of course) and to this day I have complete nerve damage from my knee to mid-shin. Its an inconvenience if I ever I cut myself there because I have no idea I’m bleeding since I can’t feel it.
Plus Size Model
But despite all this, there is one thing I enjoy about Jet. Jet is very photogenic. Being an avid photographer (I did go to school for photography afterall) I enjoy taking photos of my favorite subjects, horses. So over the years I have collected quite a few of Jet. She always seems to want to show off her fierceness for the camera. Recently some of these photos have caught the attention of a UK based children’s book company. So now Jet is set to be published in an upcoming horse sticker and activity book as well as a foldout book for children. Even though I took these photos, I have to say I’m a little jealous…I’d obviously like to see the the Trick Ponies published in the book. And I find it quite funny that Jet has been chosen, because from the side she looks like a beautiful pony mare, but from the front she looks like a fat cow. No joke. We actually had Jet tested because she was SOOO fat we thought somehow maybe she got knocked up or had a tape worm or something! I’ve taken to calling her Plus-size model. 🙂
So as soon as I get a copy of Jet’s book I will be sure to share it.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Jet is pictured as a sticker on the top left of the turquise square
A Photographic Life
Boomerang
One of my passions is photography – you may have guessed from my overwhelming amount of personal photos I include in all of my posts. I graduated college with a degree in Fine Arts and concentration in Photography. I even started my own equestrian photography business for portrait commission while I was still in college – I find myself not photographing as often now because I’m busy with my frame shop and training the ponies and well life. I constantly have thoughts of new photography projects I should take on – but rarely find the time to start them. I do however always carry a compact digital camera with me at all times. I never leave home without it!
Nitro
Jet (and no she’s not pregnant, just fat)
On Monday I decided it was time to break out my Digital SLR from hiding and snap a few photos around the farm. I think I caught some really nice shots (as you can see scattered through this post) and it really made me want to get back into taking more photos with my professional camera.
Blitz
I’ve been dying to do a series with my dachshund, Amm0. I won’t give away the details, but I have a clear idea of what I want to do….perhaps I will push myself and get to it this weekend. My husband always gives me a hard time when I start projects on the weekends, he thinks I work too much. I can’t help it though, if I’m not being productive it drives me crazy. I’m not one of those people that can sit around on the weekends (as much as my husband would like me to be). I do enjoy watching movies and my husband and I go through netflix movies like nobody’s business…but while I can relax for that hour or so the movie plays, as soon as its done its back to work for me.
Minnow gives Ammo a kiss (my favorite photo of the day)
So I guess lucky for you that I’m so “productive” otherwise you would only be reading these posts about once a week – and I wouldn’t have these nice photos to share with you. 🙂
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
