“If you’re a bird, I’m a bird.” That’s what kept running through my head as I was taking photos of Diane and her boy Gray Eagle. If you don’t know that reference it’s from the movie, The Notebook. Dreamy Ryan Gosling tells Rachel McAdams that even if she was a bird, he would be one too so they could be together. It’s this dramatic proclamation of selfless love that I think lead them to stay together at the end of the movie, and the book of course. This reminded me of Diane and Eagle because they are truly the perfect pair and it doesn’t matter that they’re horse and rider, they’re perfectly synched as if they were both birds. The name Eagle helped direct my thoughts to that quote too. 

I was really happy to hear that it was love at first sight for Diane. She met Eagle’s owner at a show in Kansas to watch him in action. Before she even left the show, Diane had signed a check and paperwork for Eagle. He arrived in Arkansas just 4 days later. Now, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention that Eagle is turning 5 this month, so he’s legit just a baby. Part of his charm for Diane and her trainer, Laura, was how well-behaved he is despite his age. It’s been about 15 years since Diane competed, so when the horse buying process began she knew that she wanted something super calm, puppy-dog friendly even. That’s what she got in Eagle. 

This off-the-track-thoroughbred (OTTB) stands at 16.3, so he’s a gentle giant. Diane said his favorite hobbies include eating, eating and then when he has time, eating a bit more. Haha! They’re still trying to figure out what treats he likes best by giving them all a go, but so far he really enjoys crunch carrot-oat clusters. I would bet, based on his demeanor, Eagle won’t actually turn his nose up at very much. I had to laugh when Diane told me she also owns three great danes. Some great Danes are the size of a small horse, but likely Eagle is the size of a very large horse. And then they have two cats to complete the mix. 

Diane is naturally an introvert, so when she contacted me for these photos it was a little out of her comfort zone. In the past, she’s ended up hiding in photos. Sometimes behind her husband or whoever else is around. It was really important to me that I made Diane feel special but not uncomfortable being the center of attention. That wasn’t too terribly hard with Eagle being a bit of a cheese head at times. That boy is a little bit of a model in his own right. Towards the end of the shoot, he got a bit cranky. Mostly he just wouldn’t put his ears up for us. Lucky for me, my assistant, Maya, was there to help. She was all over the place doing jumping jacks and anything else she could to get his attention. It was pretty comical!