Amanda has been has horse mad since about the time she learned what a horse was. And she has been lucky enough to have not one, but two, heart horses in her life. Not only that, but Amanda has also found her heart in Ben. What a lucky woman! She asked me to come and capture the precious relationship between a girl and her three loves, in the beautiful paddock at her Lithgow home which held so many special memories.

a surprise engagement session

We’d already booked our session when Ben popped the question, so I asked Manda if she’d like to play with the schedule and squeeze in some equestrian engagement portraits with her new fiancé. She said yes! (Ha, bad proposal pun)

manda’s first heart horse

Beau is a paint that her parents bought for her from a local breeder, and they’ve been together for over twenty years! They were both very young when they began their partnership, with Beau being a fresh four year old. They essentially grew up together, though it wasn’t without some trials and tribulations. From injuries (on both their parts!) to the old “I’ve suddenly decided I can’t possibly get on the float”, Beau taught Amanda all about the joys of horse ownership!

Beau is Amanda’s constant. They’ve made many special memories together, from sitting with him as a moody teenager (haven’t we all done that?), to the Pony Club rally days and competitions. Beau wasn’t a simple push button pony to learn to ride on, but he sure did teach her how to hang on! He’s mellowed in his old age, though he wears the title of grumpy old man with pride.

“no mares, no thoroughbreds!”

Next came Sal. When Amanda was looking for her new friend, she had two stipulations. No mares, and no thoroughbreds. Well, you can guess how that turned out! But often it’s the horses we never thought we wanted that turned out to be what we really needed.

Sal was a young show horse and show jumper when Amanda came across her, and it was love at first sight. A sweet, sensitive soul, (Amanda affectionately described her as a ‘space cadet’ – love it), it took a lot of hard work and time to get her settled. But their partnership grew, with special memories like her sweetest little knicker when she would see Amanda coming out to see her.

Sal took Amanda up through the levels at pony club, though they really found their stride together in the show ring.

Sal enjoyed an early retirement when some old injuries began to catch up with her.

here’s what Manda had to say after her session

“I thought I would be self conscious in front of the camera, but I didn’t – it was nice and relaxed, which was great! My favourite part was that it didn’t feel super rushed. It just felt like I was hanging out with my horses. It all felt super natural – I didn’t feel like I had to be a statue or my horses had to be perfect. The fact that you’re a horse person really helps.”

immortalised in print

Manda sent me some photographs of her album and beautiful statement framed canvas when they arrived.

A devastating goodbye

When Amanda contacted me, she knew another Winter would be hard on Sal, and that she would soon have to say goodbye to her dear friend.

Sadly, the day after I gave Amanda the good news that her memories were good to go, it was Sal’s time. She was put to rest in the same beautiful home where we captured these memories to treasure forever.

Find more images from the session below

I am so grateful to have been asked to capture these memories of Amanda’s connection with her beautiful childhood ponies, and photographs of the three loves of her life to accompany her for life.

Want to see more beautiful ponies and their humans?