“FARMILY” PHOTO ALBUM

The show portrait. The all-important rite of passage at any major horse show. Years from now, when our memories aren’t as vivid, these photos serve as a crisp reminder, they take us back to “that day” at “that show.” For years, they were a show of continuity. If it weren’t for the year changing in the backdrop, or the style of dress/tack, they would simply be carbon copies of each other.

Now, they aren’t just a staged pose in front of a backdrop, they’re glamour shots and family photos. Additional backdrops allow for more personal, close-ups of horse and rider, wardrobe changes, props… It’s turned into a full-on photo shoot. Rows of friends and family line up on either side of the horse, representing not just the horse and rider team, but their entire pit crew and cheering squad.

It’s said, that “home is where the heart is.” In my case, I look at my heart, as the home of all my friends. I carry them with me wherever I go, I carry their hearts in my heart (borrowed from E. E. Cummings). If you looked inside my heart, it would look something like this, great expanses of wall space, and galleries of my loved ones, for they’re all my loved ones, by blood, or by having horses in our blood. I give you, a tribute to some of them, with great appreciation for all that they bring to my life, and with much love…

What’s interesting, is how everyone seems to be connected. Several friends came into my life from one central person, Todd. I can honestly say I learned the most from him, Todd introduced me to his lovely wife, Laura:

Through Todd I met Abby:

Sisters, Lindsay & Anna, and Andrea:

I didn’t know it at the time, but Anna was friends with Abbie, who I’d met at another barn:

All these beautiful, young women, were GIRLS when I met them! I don’t know what happened, I saw something shiny, I blinked, and they became adults!

While I was at Todd’s barn, I showed with Amy, who now shows with her daughter, Kylee. I love, that when Amy was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, her daughter took it to heart, and started wearing great show clothes, featuring images that are close to her heart, including pink, sparkly ribbons of hope:

Our common threads, bound in our hearts, and captured in images, just in case, just like family ❤