Top Form
One of my favorite competitions each year is the World Championship Hunter Rider Professional Finals, held as a featured event during the Capital Challenge Horse Show. In this Friday night class, six professional riders face-off in a head-to-head competition where they compete over four courses swapping rides on the same horses. The competitor who totals the highest overall score emerges as “World Champion.”
This year’s class featured an array of beautiful horses, and perhaps the most photogenic was the elegant gray Belgian Warmblood Ostentacious. As an equestrian photographer, I spend countless hours standing ringside taking photos of horses jumping fences. While I enjoy my job immensely, one of the reasons I still find this work so gratifying is when I have the opportunity to photograph a horse such as Ostentacious. Each and every fence he jumps is a gorgeous display of his talent. Although most horses enjoy their jobs as show horses, when you have one that seems to revel in his enjoyment, pulling his knees up to his ears and soaring over the fences with room to spare, it’s a special animal.
Of the 476 photos I shot today, this is one of my favorites. It’s Ostentacious and my friend Liza Boyd showing off their impeccable form before an appreciative crowd. It was a long day (and night) of work today, but when I can download a photo like this at the end of the night it makes up for the lack of sleep. (Well, almost!)
Tricia Booker Photography 
Enjoyed the story and photo, Tricia! I love seeing your photos of beautiful horses!
Thank you! Glad you’re enjoying them with me!
Special indeed! Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I love this horse!
Great “show”, Tricia, can’t wait to see the rest of the photos.
Thanks, Mom! I’ll bring them down for you to see.
Wonderful dear Tricia, Thank you for sharing with us, how inspirational too. In my city there is a show like this one, but I should catch its time, and I want to have an experience with camera about running horses… I hope I can do it. Blessing and Happiness, with my love, nia
I hope you’re able to photograph the show in your city. It’s really fun to take photos of these beautiful animals. They are so photogenic, even simply standing there waiting for their performances to start. I hope it works out!
Indeed he loves to jump!! Have you ever been to Radnor Hunt?? Great photo ops there for sure. Back in the slide film days I blew through nine rolls of 36 in 3 hours.
I have been to Radnor three-day event, years ago. It’s beautiful to shoot there with the gorgeous backgrounds. I can totally relate to the old days. I remember limiting myself to 10 rolls each day…how lucky we are now to have the freedom to shoot as much as we wish.
Oops…can’t wait to see more photos of this event!