This was a session gave me all sorts of feels. Emily is an equine photographer and we met online through a mutual friend.

We joked around how we were cyber twins, because we both were in the Army, we both love horses, and we both were equine photographers who was studying Marketing for their bachelors. It was WEIRD at first, but we quickly became good friends!

Emily has had Magic since he was a yearling. They have been a big part of each others lives for over 10 years!

Magic was diagnosed with a degenerative joint issue and Emily wasn’t sure how much longer she had with him. She wanted to capture their bond, his personality, and have amazing photographs to remember him by.

Being an equine photographer herself, I was beyond honored that she asked me to photograph her boy.

These photographs under the tree I directed Emily and Magic to just focus on each other, and I was not prepared for what was to happen.

It was like the world melted away for them and there was just each other. Magic invited her into a moment and it was undeniable the bond they shared.

Not going to lie, I shed a few tears witnessing this. Those moments we have with our horses are so precious and mean the world to us. They have the power to melt away all our troubles and fears until we just feel that love between horse and rider.

It was a very emotional session for us. We all cried and laughed. It was so very bittersweet.

Magic is a Champagne Quarter Horse who has loads of talent. Isn’t he STUNNING?! <3

Emily and I talked about how he has been getting worse, and how he doesn’t move the way he used to. Right then, he took off running around the pasture. We all cheered him on. He looked so free and happy!

It was so amazing to see him move like that! Tears whelled up in Emily’s eyes and I could tell it was an amazing sight for her.

Emily told me how she trained him, how they grew together. She said he loves to jump and she wanted to make him her hunter jumper horse, but his injury prevented him of that.

I could have photographed Magic forever. <3

He was so good and craved Emily’s love and approval. He was so intent on watching her and being with her. It was touching!

We started for some pictures in the cotton, when Magic LEAPED over rows of cotton and took off running down the dirt road again! We all stood there, jaws dropped as he took off!

He had so much energy and was apparently feeling REALLY good that day! We finally caught up with him grazing in a yard. He was definitely up for adventure that day!

We went back to the cotton field for some breathtaking photos. Magic was so proud and dignified, and you could tell he hadn’t given up yet!

It started getting emotional as Magic started getting stiff again. We had so many emotional highs and lows during our session, but the underlying tone was love, and lots of it!

Emily’s dog Scout hopped in some of the pictures. What is a girl without her dog and her horse?!

I decided to capture some of Georgia’s fall colors coming through. It was beautiful!

Anyone there could tell Emily and Magic were such a great team. They were the real deal.

I knew that photographing a girl and her horse, and highlighting the bond between them was what I meant to do. When I presented Emily the photos, she cried and cried.

She said that she would always cherish these photos, and that she was so happy that they were on one of his good days. She wanted to remember her spunky little Champagne gelding that way forever.

This session reminded me of why I do what I do. Some may say they are just pretty horse pictures, but for us equestrians they mean so much  more than that. These photos immortalize our best friend, they are tokens that we will cherish forever.

This is why I believe every equestrian should have an equine photography session with them and their horse. We never know when our last ride will be, and our horses are far too precious to us to not have something to remember them by. To see how we were with our once in a lifetime horse.

These photographs are more than just pictures. They are tributes to our best friend, our teammate, to the one who never let us down.

They are a celebration that we had the honor to experience something so pure and rare as the devoted love of a horse.

Emily still cherishes these photographs of her horse Magic. I know how precious they are to her.

Magic is such an amazing horse. He is kind, loyal, trusting, and oh so smart. I could see why she loved him so much and why he has been such a big part of her life.

I was so incredibly honored to be able to experience a bond like theirs and to be trusted with such an important job. I simply adore those two!

And of course Emily’s pup scout. He is pretty amazing too!

This is why I do what I do ya’ll. This is what I aim to capture. We all have that one horse that has changed us forever, and Emily’s one horse has been and always will be her Magic. <3