Some where in my imagination

As many of you know, I love a beautifully braided horse. There is just something about their perfection, beautifully lining the horses neck, accenting the crest. My eyes just get drawn in and I just have to photograph that moment. Many of you have probably seen me around the show grounds finding beautiful braids on hunters and jumpers in between photographing rounds. I’ve even been known to stop people on their way to and from the ring to capture a picture.

I think this obsession started in the spring of 2016. I was at a May Palgrave. Of course for some crazy reason it was snowing that day because Canadian springs suck! I was talking to a friend who was holding her show mount for the year, Fritz. As you can imagine he had a pristine neck of hunter braids. I just began shooting for fun but then something special happened when I got home. I loaded the photos and noticed how perfect the image was. It honestly looked like something that should be hung as a fine art piece in any equestrians home. The cloudy snowy skies in the background just made this beautiful white on white image and showcased his hunter braids beautifully. From there on out I was addicted and knew this was going to be a new obsession for me. Every year since then I have strived to capture more new and interesting perspectives of braids.

Well, queue 2020 and the year from hell. At the beginning of the year there was talk whether or not show season was even going to happen due to the corona virus. This had me worried I wasn’t going to get my yearly fix of braid photos but I wasn’t going to let that happen, thus began my braid project. It was a project I had been wanting to start for a while but just never had the motivation to since I always got to photograph braids all summer. I guess I just need a world pandemic to make it happen haha. My braid project idea however was to take the tradition equestrian hunter and jumper braid and elevate it to a fine art, coffee table book braid image. Glamourizing the beautiful braids I love so much and breathing new life into what you could do with them. I had some crazy ideas and I needed a brilliant braider willing to help and go along with my idea.

That spring I got into contact with local braider Emily, who I knew well from photographing on the “A” circuit the past couple of years. I knew she’d be the best person to ask since she also enjoys getting super creative with her braids for her own horse and for clients horses. Thankfully when I asked, Emily was completely game to join and help with my project. She probably didn’t imagine how farfetched some of my ideas were for 2020 but she took all of them by stride and made my dreams come true! I can’t thank her enough for all the help she has given during this project and I can’t wait to start working on 2021 braid projects with her!

Stay tuned for more parts to this project as I showcase the beautiful braids we captured in 2020!

Braid Project: The Beginning | Andree-Anne Brunet Photography