Charlotte Rasmussen and Escudos Triumph

The last time I had been at the beautiful Amberlea Meadows Facility had been for my own dressage show a few years ago. I had forgotten how busy and bustling it was during an event. Walking through the busy stall aisle, keeping an eye out for Charlotte, I was reminded of many of my own Horse Show moments, it made me all the more excited to get behind the camera to photograph Charlotte's day.

I had to walk by the stall twice before recognizing Charlotte's dark and tall gelding, Scooter. I had thought ahead and brought a carrot for him, I figured out of the two Charlotte would be easier to break the ice with. We both got along easily and I soon slipped into "ghost" mode behind the camera and let Charlotte get back to prepping for her rides. As usual with horse shows, nothing was on time and she ended up putting Scooter back in his stall which gave me more time to get to know the relationship between Charlotte and her gelding.

The pair was still getting to know each other as Scooter was a new addition to the family. He was an experienced jumper and loved peppermints. He had a an odd habit of sucking on his own tongue which was something I’d never seen before and was one of the stranger things I’d seen a horse do and it certainly made me chuckle. Charlotte described him as having two speeds, either go go go or very calm, with no in between which reminded me of my own gelding. He was very well behaved while we waited by the show ring and had a very regal attitude about him. It was clear that although he might be new to Charlotte, the pair had already built a strong bond, this was even more evident in the show ring.

Both Scooter and Charlotte were very impressive to watch in the jumper ring and were the first in their class to go clear, coming out with a second place ribbon. What was most impressive however was Charlotte's care for her horse and attitude towards showing. She put her horses well being above all else and it was obvious she was there out of love for the sport and her horse, rather than for a ribbon. It was a pleasure to be around such a down to earth equestrian with such a beautiful mount. I couldn't have asked for a better pair to photograph.