It’s probably safe to guess that almost all horse people are just plain animal lovers. They might have a few preferences, but as a general category, horse people are animal lovers. Katie takes it to a whole new level! Her sweet, flea-bitten gray gelding, Elliott, is just her largest pet. She has 10 others to not only take care of, but keep track of. Talk about wild! Katie and Elliott were sweet as can be and if they’re relationship is anything like that of Katie’s 10 other pets, then they are some of the luckiest animals in the world. Since Katie is a Disney movie fan, I would guess she has some similarities with Cinderella. While I doubt her animals help her with chores and bust her out of a locked tower to get to a ball and meet the prince, I’m guessing they all just adore her. But let’s get back to Elliott! 

This 9-year-old warmblood has just a few nicknames: Ellie Belly, Senior Ellioso, El, Handsome Pony, Baby and (my personal favorite) Chunky Monkey. I can understand why Katie has so many nicknames for this guy. During the shoot, he was super expressive in quite literally every pose. I can’t say that for every horse I photograph. They’re all great, but they don’t all have expression like Elliott. As you can tell from the photos, the sunset was perfection and made our shoot straight-up magical. I love it when things work out like that! 

The story about how Katie and Elliot is too sweet not to share: “My trainer, mom and I flew up to Indianapolis and then drove to a small town called Zionsville. We went to Wind Haven Farm to try 3 horses, one was too green so it ended up being Elliott and Leo. I really didn’t want a grey so I was already liking Leo a lot more than Elliott. I rode Elliott first and I remember jumping a little cross rail before being told to start jumping which for me and my trainer that’s a big sign of how much trust and how safe I felt on Elliott.” The rest, as they say, is history.

 Even though Katie and Elliott are typically found in the hunter jumper show pen, they’ve taken some time off since last summer just to enjoy each other. I love that they’re taking the time to just enjoy each other without the added pressure of competing. It’s something I wish more people would do with their horses. Anyhow, to spend time together Katie and Elliot are jumping small fences to build up their confidence as a team and taking lots of trail rides, but get this, they hit the trail bareback and just in a halter. Obviously they trust each other a million miles and back if they’re doing that on the reg. Like any show horse, Elliott does have his quirks. He’s not a fan of water, like at all. He doesn’t appreciate standing in the wash stall and will do his best to avoid puddles. The duo is working on this with all their trail riding, but not all quirks were meant to break. Am I right??

 “I love how snuggly he is and always wants me to be in his sight especially in the barn if I leave him in the cross ties to get something where he can’t see me he kinda panics which is super sweet.” And this is why I do what I do, to capture the love and affection between a horse and their owner. Some days I can’t hardly believe this is my job. I LOVE it! Also, thanks to be the BEST husband in the world for being my helper on these shoots. He’s a trooper!