It was a brisk November day at Promise Hill Farm in Elgin, Illinois, and we were squeezing in one of the last fall portrait sessions of the season before the leaves came down and the snow started to fly. Brittany brought both of her horses, so we started in the barn with fine art portraits of Chocolate and Cosmo, then headed outside for her horse and rider session.
A First Horse and a Saddlebred Star
Cosmo, registered as Color Me Cosmic, is a 15 year old Paint cross gelding and Brittany’s first horse. Brittany describes him as perfect, sweet, and gentle, and the two of them have done just about everything together: dressage, eventing, overnight trail rides, hunters, and ranch riding.
Chocolate, registered as Robert’s Sweet Thunder, is an 11 year old liver chestnut American Saddlebred mare by World Champion Sir William Robert. She has shown hunt seat across the country and earned a ribbon at Devon. She is now retiring from the show ring to start a new chapter as a mother, and she was in foal at the time of our session.
Fall Colour and Easy Layers
Brittany also breeds and shows Dachshunds, so her outfit had a sweet nod to them: a Dachshund sweater under an army green jacket, paired with breeches and cute booties. Layers like these are an easy way to add variety to your portraits, because taking off a jacket or adding one changes the whole look without a full outfit change.
Brittany’s boyfriend, Adam, was at the ready the entire time, helping and holding horses, and he did a fantastic job. Both Cosmo and Chocolate were beautifully behaved, and Chocolate looked stunning with hunter braids done by Anna Banks.
Brittany, thank you for bringing both of your horses out on such a crisp fall day, and Adam, thank you for being the best horse holder we could have asked for.
Want to celebrate your own partnership? Learn more about horse + rider bond sessions.