|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Kelly Mcginn
|
When the January issue of Dressage Today magazine came out in early December, I was very surprised to hear that my young horse, Windsor was on the cover. I was out of town when it hit the stands, but I quickly heard that Windsor was on the cover as several of my students saw it and I started getting phone calls and text messages about it. My first response was “are you sure?”. I was quickly assured that it was him. I knew that Windsor and I were going to be in the article in the magazine written by Scott Hassler, but I did not know that they were going to use Windsor for the cover, so I am sure you can imagine how excited I was!
It all started back in October when Scott called one evening to ask if I would bring Windsor to his farm in a few weeks for a photo shoot for an article he was writing for Dressage Today magazine. I replied (trying to be very cool, as if I get asked to do something like a photo shoot all the time) “of course, I would love to”! As soon as I hung up the phone, my first thought, being a typical woman, was ‘what am I going to wear!?!?’.
|
|
There were several guidelines in terms of dress that the magazine gave us, so this limited my wardrobe choices! They told us that black and grey don’t usually show up well in pictures and that white gets washed out and that green would blend in too much with the trees.... oh, what was I going to do?? They told us that pastels and blue really photographed well, so I decided on blue britches and a light pink shirt with a vest. The photo shoot itself was quite fun and surprisingly fast! There was a very nice lady from the magazine there and the photographer was Sue Stickle of Hoofprints Photography, who I actually know, so it was nice to see her and I knew the pictures would be top notch. They wanted the pictures to be taken outside in a natural setting, so we rode the horses out in a beautiful grassy area next to the pond at Riveredge (the home of Hassler Dressage). I was first to go and then Scott and Susanne were next, both riding young stallions as the other horses featured in the article. Windsor was the 4yr old example in the article. Since I was first, I was not sure what to expect, but Scott schooled me as the photos were being taken. I have been riding with Scott for a long time, so this made me feel at home as it seemed like a normal lesson (yeah, right! With a camera being clicked a million times a second!!). I just kept thinking to myself, sit up tall, elbows in, eyes up and smile (but not too much that you look silly), all while trying to ride and direct a 4yr old out in an open field! The funny thing to me was that we did all of the work going to the right so that when you see the pictures in the magazine, the horses are shown going left to right across the page.... this is the sort of thing that you never think about, but it makes sense when you see the pictures in a magazine. The shot that made the cover was taken after we finished and Windsor and I were standing as I was giving my info to the lady from the magazine and Windsor was very taken with the geese in the pond. I think it was the first time he noticed that they were actually alive and moving! The whole thing was over very quickly and then I got to relax and watch Scott and Susanne ride their wonderful and talented stallions for the photographer, that is always a treat! |
 |
I purchased Windsor in March of 2006 with Scott’s help. Scott saw him at the 2006 KWPN Stallion Licensing and Select Sale. I liked what I saw in the video and I trust Scott as I have been working with him for a long time and consider him not only my trainer, but a friend, so I knew he would help me in making the right decision. Windsor is by Harmony’s Rousseau, so I knew the quality and temperament would be super. I have had him almost 2 years now and he has turned out to be a super horse! He has a friendly and confident nature, this along with outstanding movement, makes him a very fun horse to ride and train!! I feel very lucky to have him!
Kelly Mcginn
Check Kelly's websites for updates: www.kellymcginn.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|