Making a calendar- Grassland

So, my wonderful husband came up with a really great idea... "Why don't you make a calendar of all the local riders and sell it in the store?"  Golly!  Why didn't I think of that!?

So, I have been traveling out on a sweet adventure- and a truly rewarding one at that!

God has blessed me with so many wonderful horsey friends that love having their picture taken!  After all, who doesn't want to show off their pony?

I began gathering names... and phone numbers... and locations... and then I started scheduling... fun stuff!

The very first barn to contact me was Grassland Ranch in Athens, AL, and they also became my very first Calendar Photo Session.

Being out at Grassland was such a treat for me because, being an English rider, the Western world can be exhilarating!  I was fortunate enough to have a model, a barrel racer, and a rodeo queen all together on the same day, which made for some beautiful pictures!  I also had some riders who preferred the more laid-back approach to their riding, which was fine by me.  The mix of riders was beautiful, the weather was absolutely perfect, the horses were all amazingly cooperative, and it couldn't have gone any better.

The field we did most of the photographing in made for some beautiful pictures.  From the road, it looked like it was about waist-high, however, once I began wading through, I found that in places it was almost up to my shoulder... and I'm 5'9"!  My rodeo queen's mother was also wading through and at one point all I could see was the top of her head sifting through the long grass.

One of my riders that day, Desiree, rode her plucky little pony named Sherman who happens to be a Haflinger.  I have always held a special place in my heart for Haflingers because I have always found them to have such sweet natures.  While I was photographing Desiree, I asked her if she could pick up the canter (ahem- excuse me- LOPE) and she informed me that Sherman has a bit of a bucking side.  However, he performed beautifully and they kept all four feet on the ground!

Every one of these pictures makes me smile.  They touched that creative place inside my soul, and even though I plan on sticking with my English saddles for all of eternity, my imagination went wild.  You could get a high off of all that leather!

Perhaps, someday I'll have the opportunity to go back for one reason or another.  Fingers crossed!

Andy, Christy, Mike, Amanda- the Trainers at Grassland Ranch

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www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com