As we stood outside with the subtle autumn colors shifting in the background, I knew that I was documenting something truly special. Sometimes life has a funny way of leading you to the exact place you are supposed to be. For Susan, she had a few detours before finally matching with her Rocky Mountain Gaited Horse, Skippy. 

In 2021, I donated a horse and rider portrait experience to a silent auction that immediately caught Susan’s attention. At the time, she had her Hanovarian mare in mind for these portraits, unfortunately, she found out that her mare was suffering from kissing spines and had to be euthanized. After grieving the loss of her mare, Susan began her search for her next equine partner. She finally bought a horse in Houston with hopes of dressage but after a serious accident with that horse, she suffered from many broken bones as well as a brain bleed. Ultimately, she decided to return the horse and Susan swore off riding for quite some time.

That is, until a Rocky Mountain Gaited Horse in Ewing, Kentucky appeared out of the blue at Acadiana Stables. He was 5 years old when she bought him from Larry and Naomi LeBlanc who had bred him in Kentucky. Within 2 minutes of a 2-hour trail ride, Susan knew this was the horse she had been waiting for. 

It wasn’t until they had arrived home to Inyazura Farms of Athens GA, trailer in tow, that Susan came up with the perfect barn name for her newest addition. After cantering through the pasture one afternoon she pulled back on the reins saying ‘whoa Skippy’ and the rest is history. Today, Skippy can be found indulging in the finer things in life, German Horse Muffins are always a fan favorite for this bougie boy! 

While Susan can find herself being camera shy, Skippy loves anything that has to do with a camera. A mixture of my squeaky dog toy and my curious accent made getting ears forward incredibly easy and quite hilarious. We navigated Susan’s shyness in front of the camera with flattering and natural poses to feature the best assets of Skippy and Susan. 

While I normally create a wardrobe experience for my clients, after a little encouragement to think outside of the box, Susan chose a black cocktail dress, heels, and pearls to pair with her husband’s formal attire and of course Skippy! After seeing her “Jackie Kennedy-esque” look in her final portraits, Susan shared that she was so happy to have received some guidance on choosing a more special outfit for the occasion. We also featured a textured top with jeans for a perfect mixture of looks within Susan and Skippy’s collection of portraits. 

After we were done with outdoor portraits, we headed inside the barn for some Black Background Portraits to round off Susan’s album. Susan proudly displays her wall art from her portraits in her modern turquoise-inspired living room and to this day has friends and family comment on how much they adored her Christmas Cards featuring her favorite portraits!

You can now find Susan and Skippy Fox Hunting with Shakerag Hounds, Georgia’s oldest recognized Foxhunt. They had started the season out in fourth field and proudly had finished in second field. After a 12-year break from horses and an active life breeding, training, and showing. Susan says she would go through everything all over again if it meant she would have Skippy come into her life. 

Learn more HERE and begin the once-in-a-lifetime portrait experience you and your horse deserve.