The lovely gang at Ufton Green are always so welcoming! I was delighted to be welcomed back several times over the summer months for 2 full days shooting the lovely liveries. There was a vast variety in horses - from big hunters to therapy ponies and everything in between.
Here are a few favourites from my first shoot of the year at Ufton:
The absolutely adorable Tutu was only a few days old when I met her. Her lovely Mum, Gerty, was rescued by Claire after being found in a sorry state, pregnant and with a foal at foot. With much love and care, all three of them have the best possible chance with Claire and her family.
Here is the lovely Mummy, and below is Claire with her three other four legged friends. Claire does fantastic work using horses as therapy.
I've had the pleasure of photographing Benny before - owned by Ellie and Jon. He's a very handsome ex-racer! Last time I was at Ufton, Ellie was very pregnant and wsa only a few weeks away from having her baby - a year on:
Next up was Gary with his 10 horses - all of which are involved within his work. The horses and ponies are a variety of different shapes, sizes and ages but all share one job - they look after troubled young adults and childeren and act as a means of therapy to help them cope. The horses themselves have come from troubled backgrounds but help humans in similair situations as to how they once were.
Meet Jenna, her son Bobby and her very cheeky mare - Scarlett! The fields at the back of Ufton Green provided the perfect setting for a lovely family portrait!
Zack and Archie belong to Lucy and her family. Archie was the latest addition to the family and was being ridden by Lucy's daughter. After being a little nervous of Archie - it wasn't long before he was being smothered in cuddles and kisses. Lucy has also signed herself and Zack up to compete in the Wobbleberries challenge this year!
The lovely Barry and Jasmine are owned by Sarah who organised the yard day shoot. Sadly, she couldn't make the day due to other comittments but so that she wasn't left out, the lovely team at Ufton Green were on hand to polish the ponies and ensure they were looking their best for some black background images!
How cute are these two - Ozzie and Winnie! They're very loved and join the ex-racers out in the fields. Alfie and the other childeren enjoy patting and stroking the shetlands and they very much lead the life of luxury!
And finally, here are the ex-racers on holiday at Ufton. Jon and Ellie run the EDPS racing syndicate, making racing affordable for groups of owners. Tracey organised to have these images taken to show the horses enjoying their down time in the paddocks. The horses welfare is something EDPS pride themselves on greatly!
As always it was lovely to catch up with everyone and meet the new horses and liveries! I'm always made to feel so welcome and of course thank you for the lovely pizza picnic at lunchtime!