Julie Scrivo with Jerry, Allusion, Harvey, Tiny and Upie | Lifestyle Horse & Rider Session

Tottenham, ON

I headed down the driveway that I know all too well. Over the past 5 years I have been heading out to Julie’s private facility for horse and rider sessions multiple times a year. I can’t even count on my hands anymore how many we have done together! It’s been an amazing journey having the privilege of watching her horses grow and age with her.

This session was a special one. We were photographing her baby that is now 5 years old. I meet Jerry when he was just a wee baby back in 2015. I’ve gotten to see him grow and fill out over the years and finally become this stunning horse he is today, is just spectacular. To be able to photograph that growth is why I love my job so much!

We started the session just focusing on Jerry. Julie was dressed to the nine’s in her beautiful show clothes! I honestly have to hand it to western riders. They really put so much time and effort into looking perfect when show ready. It’s mind-blowing the amount of work that goes into it! We headed over to a quiet spot beside the barn and I got to work. Julie and all of her horses are pretty much pros at this point and little direction is needed for them to get into position, plus Jerry is just such a beef cake!!

We moved to her sand ring for some undersaddle shots. Like many, Julie’s show season came to a screeching halt due to Covid. Leaving all her new show clothes and tack unused until now! We used this opportunity to get a few shots that she would have gotten should her show season had not been cancelled.

I always love shooting new disciplines and what western riders look for in images varies in some areas compared to what my usual Hunter/Jumper riders look for. The smile on Julie’s face when I nailed the shot she was looking for was all the confirmation I needed that day! I also became completely obsessed with how gorgeous Jerry looked in his western tack that I couldn’t help but get a few detail shots of that too! I am not one to miss an opportunity to capture the finer details during a session.

I also had the absolute pleasure to recreate some images of Jerry to match the photos Julie had gotten many years ago with his mom. Honestly I love doing special moments like this, being able to bring old memories to life. I know how special his mom was to Julie and to do this for her was the smallest gift I could give.

To end off the session we got all 5 of her boys ready and headed out to her back hay field! The moment we had both been waiting for had arrived. She had asked me about getting this shot when she first booked and I was so happy to finally have all 5 boys in front of my camera. I have photographed each of them in their own session but never as an entire group before. This was going to prove challenging but then again I love a good challenge and coming up with a solution that works! Julie is also up for all of my crazy ideas so once we nailed the shot of all 5 horses I asked her to walk all 4 boys towards me in her beautiful long dress. To say we NAILED it is an understatement! Julie did fabulously handling them all while walking towards me and I also can’t thank all the helpers we had that night enough, as they made these next shots possible! Without them these last few photos would have been nearly impossible so I want to give them a huge shoutout for making the dream come alive!!

Thank you so much Julie for always trusting me with your photos. It is always such an amazing fun time heading out to your farm every year!