Chocolate, registered as Robert’s Sweet Thunder, is an 11 year old liver chestnut American Saddlebred mare, and her fine art session at Promise Hill Farm in Elgin, Illinois, was a perfect way to celebrate her show career.
A Saddlebred with a Show Ring Résumé
Chocolate is by World Champion Sir William Robert, and she has shown hunt seat across the country, including earning a ribbon at Devon. She is now retiring from showing to begin her next chapter as a broodmare, and she was in foal at the time of our session, which makes these portraits even more special.
Liver Chestnut + Dapples
Against the black background, Chocolate’s rich liver chestnut coat shines, and every line of her elegant Saddlebred frame stands out. Her hunter braids, done by Anna Banks, finished the look beautifully, and she was a perfect lady from start to finish. She was a little nervous from the sound of the strobe lights, but that seemed to help her expressions, and we got some beautiful and expressive poses as she settled into the session.
If your horse seems nervous, they usually calm as the session progresses, and we just use it to our advantage for poses, as they only need to stand still a second or two at a time. As always, we work with the horse we have on that day and make sure it’s a fun experience for human and horse alike!
Chocolate’s session was the first of the day. See her barn mate in Cosmo’s fine art portraits, and both horses with Brittany in their horse + rider bond session.
Brittany, thank you for sharing Chocolate with me before her next big adventure.
Want fine art portraits of your own horse? Learn more about equine fine art sessions.