Back in the fall we had a visit from writer Karen Briggs and equine photographer Shawn Hamilton. The pair have partnered on many projects, including several magazine articles and the popular series of children's books: 'Crazy for Horses', 'Still Crazy for Horses' and 'Crazy for Ponies' (in which Karen profiles different breeds, illustrated with Shawn's superb photography). Shawn's photos, distributed through her company "CLiX", have appeared on the covers of dozens of magazines worldwide

Karen and Shawn visited our farm while researching an article on gaited riding for an upcoming issue of the Canadian Horse Journal. As well as looking for information, they were also looking for subjects to photograph to accompany the article. Of course, we never have to be asked twice to show off our horses.
 

We saddled up 'Cappucino', Colleen's chocolate gelding, and just for contrast thought we should bring out 'Sparkle' as well. Sparkle is a three year-old, silver buckskin Rocky Mountain mare who, at the time, had only been under saddle for about six weeks. She and C'cino made for a striking pair as they gaited side-by-side down the field and Shawn clicked away.
 

Not content with merely photographing us, though, Karen and Shawn wanted to experience the gaited ride for themselves. So, after we were through, they mounted up and took turns riding; not just the trail-seasoned gelding but the green-broke mare as well. Colleen coached and offered pointers from the ground and both horses did us proud. C'cino, as always, was the perfect gentleman. Sparkle behaved wonderfully ("...this horse only has six weeks training?") and both of our guests were able to feel the signature rocking-chair ride of our mountain horses.

After we'd finished riding we asked Shawn if she'd like to visit Tim and the girls at the back of the home farm. Tim, of course, is our 12 year-old stallion "Tim's Choco"; a son of Clemon's Tim and a big, lumbering puppy-dog, who spends his summers in his own 100 acre domain with a dozen mares and their babies. This herd has things just about a natural as they can get and I thought Shawn might be interested in getting some pictures of them in this setting. Shawn enthusiastically agreed, so we piled into the truck and drove down to the back farm, where she spent more than an hour taking dozens of shots of the mares, the babies and, of course, Timmy.

A few weeks ago Shawn sent us an email to let us know that one of her shots of Tim had been featured in Blaze Kids magazine. That was pretty cool. But, even better, they also chose this picture to use on the banner for their booth at this years Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, so we can say that Timmy really is a "poster boy" for the Rockies!

We'd like to thank Shawn and Karen for helping to spread the word about our horses and giving us the opportunity to share them. Karen's article on gaited riding is currently slated to appear in the March/April '05 issue of the Canadian Horse Journal, but according to the publisher that may be subject to change to a later issue (we'll keep you posted). If you're looking for a top notch photographer for horses, Shawn's web-site is www.clixphoto.com.

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Blaze Magazine web-site:
    www.blazekids.com

Canadian Horse Journal web-site:
    www.horsejournals.com