Fiona first met her beautiful paint gelding, Ollie, when she was 9 years old, and their partnership had developed until they reached 2* eventing. But Fiona’s university demands made it difficult to give all three phases of eventing the attention they deserved when training. Ultimately, she had to make the heart-wrenching decision to sell him. But before she did, fortunately she invited me to capture her memories to treasure forever.

Fiona’s dream was to have gorgeous photographs of Ollie in a special place in her heart – their affectionately called fairy garden.

When I arrived, I had a quick chat with Fiona about her boys and the things they liked. These conversations are so important to get the best out of your horse. It turned out both horses were food motivated, which always helps to get those lovely arched necks!

I then set up the backdrop in the shed while Fiona made the final touch-ups for Ollie’s fine art session.

Ollie was a great example of a horse who needed his mum by his side to keep
him posing. Every time Fiona tried to step out of the photo, Ollie followed
her! Luckily for us, a bit of Photoshop magic meant we could keep moving Fiona
around and get the shots anyway.

Once Ollie was done, we captured a few photographs of Fiona’s first eventing pony, George. I made sure to try and capture poses that mirrored Ollie, so I could create a composite image for Fiona.

With the portraits done, it was time to wander over to the fairy garden. It was an absolutely beautiful space, if a little bit tight for Ollie! With the afternoon sun streaming through the trees, it was truly magical. We captured some gorgeous photos of Fiona with her two boys. Fiona’s main priority was capturing Ollie, so we spent time with Ollie posing by himself.

There were a couple of photographs where Fiona loved Ollie so much, that she chose some advanced edits and was able to keep a memory with her in and out of the photograph! You’ve got to love Photoshop! This was done by simply using a shot of Ollie I had from before Fiona got into position – I simply ‘stole’ his front end from that one, and off I went!

Ollie was very obliging with his ears so it was easy to get the perfect photographs. I love a horse who’s curious and interested in their surroundings, they truly give the most sweet expressions!

Thank you, Fiona, for choosing me to tell your story.

See more memories from Fiona & Ollie’s session below:

To view more of my favourite images, head to the portfolio.