The Standardbred Pleasure and Performance Horse Association of WA held the annual Winter Gala at the Perth Horse and Pony Club grounds in Herdsman. I am totally biased towards the breed (having two of my own) and I strongly believe that they are *the* most under-rated breed in the horse world. Thankfully more people like those that turned out for this show are seeing the incredible possibilities with this versatile breed as pleasure and preformance horses.
And I have to say that the presentation of these Standardbreds is absolutely impeccable and puts alot of other ‘fancy’ breeds to shame!
Well after getting a taste of Cutting action at the last bit of the Ian Francis Cutting Clinic that I saw after the Paint Horse Champs back in February, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to watch two days of cutting on the 16th and 17th May.
Wow what a long day! Even with back up batteries and 6 x 4GB cards I ran out of memory beofre the end of the day…and I don’t know about the competitors who finished afer 7pm, but I certainly was exhausted by the time I left (lets just blame the heat shall we:)
As well as photographs from the day, I am pleased to also provide a video of the Show Jumping phase of the One Day Event.
The full length video is 55 minutes long and is available in both DVD and web format. Each individual rider video is between 1 minute 30 seconds to 3 minutes long and are also available on DVD or web format. All videos are recorded at 1080p HD, however they are only sold at 720p resolution for quality playback on most modern standard DVD players.
The full length video and individual rider videos maintain the ambient sound that was at the event, but background music only can also be provided.
This embedded youtube video is a compilation of the video taken showing some of the highlights.
After the Paint Horse Championship Show I popped over to have a looksie at the Cutting Clinic being held by Ian Francis. I’ve never seen Cutting Horses in action before, but it certainly looks like fun as well as a whole lot of skill is involved in selecting the right cow (beast) from the group and then keeping it separated for the required time as it tries to return to its mates. This is definitely something that I would love to have a go at someday!
It was an honour to the be Official Photographer for the 2009 WA Paint Horse Championship Show held at the Murray Horse and Pony Club grounds in Coolup. I must admit to feeling a bit sorry for the riders that compete in both the English and Western classes – the amount of gear that they need to drag along with them is incredible. LOL and I wouldn’t like all the tack cleaning afterwards either!
There were some really stunning horses, and it was a really well organised event (especially conisdering the heat!) The proofs from the show are available for viewing and purchase on South West Photography but here are a few of my favourites from the show.
The bright arena covering at the Peel Horse and Pony Club grounds and the dust that it created under the horses hooves was initially a bit of a challenge, but a little post processing cleared the dust away and I ended up with some shots that I am very pleased with.
The full set of proofs can be viewed at South West Photography but here are a few of my favourites from the day:
What a fantastic turn-out there was the the Summer Show Offs Horse Breed Show at Gosnells! So many beautiful horses it was hard to know where to point my camera!
The full set of proofs can be viewed at South West Photography but here are a few of my favourites from the day:
The full set of proofs for both the In Hand and Ridden competition at the Gosnells Summer Show Offs 2009 can be viewed and print purchase at South West Photography
It was a wonderful honour to be appointed as the official photographer for this years WA Palamino Associations Championship Show, and what a thrill to be able to photograph some very beautiful horse and ponies!