Matt & Stevie
Horse and Rider – UF Horse Teaching Unit, Gainesville, FL
We had a beautiful (but very weird!) afternoon photographing with Matt and his horse, Stevie. When I arrived at the HTU, a place that I practically lived at for the last two years of college, it was sunny, hot, and beautiful; the Florida norm. When we started taking photos it started raining, but it didn’t stop the sun from shining! So, we casually took photos in the sprinkles since the sun was determined to still beam down on us. Later I would drive back to Live Oak in the worst lightning storm I’ve seen in years… but at least we got the photos, right?
I met Matt a few years back while we were in college. We both were members of the Equestrian Team at UF. Matt rode western pleasure while I rode hunters–two very different disciplines if you know anything about horses! College is weird because you start taking classes with hundreds of people, and by the end of your college career your classes are small and you know everyone in them. Matt and I shared several classes together my last year/two at UF, so when I wanted to add a western pleasure horse to my portfolio he was the man to call!
Matt and Stevie are active competitors in the Pinto circuit and have been to world together several times. I stuck around to watch Matt ride after portraits and I think it’s safe to say they make quite a team!
-Shelly