Last weekend, I traveled to Middletown, NY to photograph the GOV (Oldenburg) Inspections at Maplewood Warmbloods. The farm is situated close to the CT border and NYC, and it took me about three hours to drive there. The drive was lovely, though; lots of scenic vistas and minimal time spent on 95 South. I also somehow hit zero traffic, which I took to be a sign that it would be a fabulous weekend.
The day of the inspections dawned sunny and warm, and all of the foals arrived with their dams looking shiny and beautiful. The judges were going to inspect the horses in the indoor, which is always a very tough lighting situation. I always say that the camera does not make the photographer, because you can spend megabucks on camera gear and still take really terrible photos if you don’t know what you’re doing, but in this case, my camera and fast lenses were instrumental in achieving success.
One by one, the horses walked and trotted for the judges, then were given a rating based on their breeding, appearance, and movement. Each foal was a different age but their personalities were already coming out and it was so much fun to watch them strut their moves for the judging panel. After it was finished, I photographed a few of the foals outside, also.
Thank you to Jen Vanover for hosting this event and allowing me to photograph it. Maplewood Warmbloods is clearly a very high caliber facility and I really enjoyed meeting all the horses and cuddling with the foals.
