Taken at a local dressage schooling show, where those new to the discipline of dressage get a chance to show in a fairly low-key setting with the option of not being penalized if they wear relatively casual attire. Hence the traces of winter coat and the unbraided mane on the horse, and the old-school ratcatcher outfit on the rider :-)
Bill is the horse, a 15-yr-old Belgian/QH. He is the schoolmaster. He knows his job inside-out, upside-down and backwards, and that is to look after his rider while he learns. I love the look on his face - one of honesty and patience, which is what makes him the perfect horse for his adult beginner rider. The soft slightly loopy rein is probably precisely what Bill needs so he continues to go forward. Horses like Bill are worth their weight in gold.
The look of utmost concentration on the student, his rider's face - not to mention the relatively old-school lace-up boots, tweedy jacket and tie and taupe breeches - were a nice change from shooting glossy OTTBs and their female riders in their black jackets over blindingly white shirts, white breeches and big, white square saddlepads!
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Snaffles, I was betting this was you. I looked at the pic, then the title and knew the horse was the schoolmaster. Horses like that are worth their weight in gold.
sorry, but the reason this isn't scoring well is that it looks like a photo anybody with a decent camera could take. the key to scoring better is to put that camera to work, trying to capture images that not just anybody could take.
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