Monique got in touch to celebrate two special men in her life. Firstly, her newly started heart-horse, Valen, and to celebrate her 25 year anniversary with her husband, Joe.

We captured these magical moments over two separate sessions at Monique & Joe’s beautiful East Kurrajong property.

Valen’s time to shine

We started in familiar territory (for me) with a horse and rider session, celebrating Monique’s love for her young warmblood gelding, Valen.

In our discovery call, Monique told me how she saw a photograph of Valen as a foal on his breeder, Glenhill Sporthorses‘ facebook page and it was love at first sight. She just knew. “That’s my horse!” she said, and not long after, Valen was a stunning addition to her paddocks.

They’d already been through a lot together in their five years together, from multiple medical scares, but it has only made their connection stronger. Monique was even tearing up just speaking about him. Now that’s love!

Valen has now grown into a gentle giant (standing at a measly 18hh) – Monique describes him as being in your face affectionate. He loves to greet her with a nicker and follow her around the paddock like a puppy. Monique can spend hours with him just showing him love, particularly his favourite – a good wither scratch!

A family affair

The second session with Monique & Joe was a very casual afternoon – we started with the horses at liberty in the paddock. We started with some sweet moments with the family dogs, Molly and Jesse with the horses grazing peacefully in the background.

It wasn’t too long before we sparked their curiosity though! I loved how the horses all individually left their hay to come check out what their mum and dad were up to in their paddock. Such a testament to the animal family they have created. Through this we captured some precious moments of Joe with his special Frankie, and the both of them with the rebellious spirit Jimmy.

Monique told me how her and Joe met when they were young, and bonded over being crazy animal people together. She said he knows her like no one else, and is ultimately her rock. He is so supportive of her equestrian passion.

One thing which stuck out to me in my call with Monique is how she told me how her and Joe have built this life together. Straight away I knew an image I’d love to capture of them, looking over what they’ve created.

This is why it’s so important to me to talk to my clients before our session! Through that I can help bring their vision to life.

The artwork:

Monique added a beautiful acrylic cover album and a range of wall art to her home. Check out this video of the album below!

Check out more images from the session below:

Thank you Monique for inviting me to capture your precious loved ones ♡

Want to know more about what goes into a HSP session?

Check out the HSP process and what’s included in your equine photo session, right here: