Sheboygan County Fair 2010 | Part 2 | Plymouth, WI Photographer

Happy Thursday everyone! Here is the second installment of Fair photos! Like I said...it was a busy weekend. Sunday and Monday are always important days at the Fair. Sunday is always drill team and other riding events day. This year was the English Drill Team's Leader's last year. So there was an extra special ending to the english drill team's final performance. The drill teams ride their horses to patterns and music. It is pretty neat to watch because some of the moves that they do are kind of tricky. The beginner teams are mainly trot work, the intermediate teams do some catering but mainly trot work as well, and the advanced teams do more cantering. Check out some photos!

There are 3 english teams and 3 western teams...beginner, intermediate, and advanced (western is A, B, and C). The beginner english team is always first.

Next is the intermediate team.

And finally the advanced team.

In between the teams there are always other demonstrations of different riding styles. This year there were 2 different dressage presentations. One with 2 riders (called a pas de deux) and a single rider. both presentations were ridden to music. This is also known as Musical Kur. First was the pair of riders:

Next up was the single rider...she has been riding dressage since she was 6! She is 16 now and her horse is 12. It was very cute...she rode her test to a Sesame Street remix song.

After the dressage was some jumping. I love jumping almost as much as dressage. Pretty much because I can get photos like this:

And this...

Then came the western teams:

beginners...

intermediate...

annndddd advanced...

I gotta give a thumbs up to the advanced team...they had human poles to gallop around! good thing the horses didn't buck!

Anyway...on Monday...it rained. of course. like down poured. so, since Monday is game day, this is what happened:

the flag ceremony....with stick ponies :) ....

some fun classes, like egg & spoon....

some more fun classes like...bobbing for apples...

dizzy cowboy...

 a dance party...

annnddddd.....what else is there to do where there is mud everywhere?!?!?!

have a mud fight!!

all in all it turned out to be a pretty fun-filled day :)

If you would like to view all of the fair photos, please click here.

xoxo Maggie

email me! :) / visit my website! :)

Sheboygan County Fair | Part 1 | Plymouth, WI Photographer

Well, the past week and a half has been a couple of things: busy. crazy. awkward weather. and fabulous.

It has been all of these things because over Labor Day weekend every year is the Sheboygan County Fair!

These 5 days are the most anticipated days for almost every 4-H'er in the county. This is where everyone gets to exhibit something...and really anything! 

I was lucky enough to be asked by the Horse and Pony Project to be the photographer for the weekend. On a side note...a BIG THANKS!!! To the Horse & Pony Project...it was a pleasure :)

Now, on to the main event :)

This year's fair started out like many others...and then...Old Man Weather decided that he was going to turn off the hot and on the cold. and rain. oooooh yes, the rain. Ugh...if there is one thing that makes the fair not very happy is rain. And it wasn't the nice...oh lets just sprinkle rain...oh it was lets rain down in sheets and sideways and all ways. Really?! My equipment DOES NOT like that. At all. So, next year, Old Man Weather, PLEASE give us some 70-80s and partly cloudy :) it really does make the best photos!

So here are some photos from Friday and Saturday. Friday was the English show day and Saturday was the Western.

Flag ceremony to start off the day.

In the main arena was the speed...so barrels, pole bending, flag and sand, and a couple others.

In the lower arena was the Showmanship classes.

The afternoon got all dark, cold, and rainy...which stinks because I had to try and hide my camera so it didn't get all wet.

But, Saturday proved to be a little better...at least it didn't rain. It was still cold and super windy!

The day started out with Western Showmanship and Halter.

Then there was a couple driving classes...and how CUTE is this pony :D:D

 After the driving classes was more riding and a memorial patterns class.

Part 2 will be up tomorrow!! Enjoy!!

To view all of the photos from the fair, click here.

xoxo Maggie

email me! :) / visit my site! :)

Sketchbook Project | Personal | Sheboygan Photographer

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I signed up for the Sketchbook Project that is put on by the Art House Coop. I recently finished the book I was reading (Angels & Demons by Dan Brown...pretty good read by the way) so I decided to get crackin' on my book. At first I was stumped at what to draw because let's face it...I am no genius when it comes to drawing. But then I remembered that last winter, while I was bored on my lunch break at work I started drawing these:

sketches. doodles. drawings. mis-shaped thingys. and whatever else really was going through my brain. 

SO...since this project lets you do basically whatever you want I decided that I was going to use these because really...they aren't doing me any good sitting in my desk drawer at work. Plus my "theme" is called "I'm a scavenger" so I think this is a good start on my representation of it. I am excited to say that I have about 5 pages done in the book. Now, I know you are all thinking, "5 pages?!!? That's it?!?!" well, let me tell you...it takes a while to doodle. And really, its a process. So one page can take a day. Ok, well let me clarify that a little better because I don't get paid to doodle...so really one drawing takes most of my 30 minute lunch and some more time at home. So as I scarf down my lunch I doodle :) it really is a fun time passser...especially when this happens:

ta-da! I saw this little dude on someone's facebook profile picture the night before I drew him and this is how my rendition came out. gotta love pirate ninja penguins!

I also am borrowing a guitar. Yes, that is right a GUITAR! :D:D:D:D love it. I am teaching myself (slowly) how to play it. some day maybe I will be a rockstar! ok, maybe not. but I can still play songs on the guitar and pretend, right?!? 

I am really excited to learn more...I really love to sound of an acoustic guitar. :D

Anyway...that is all the updates I have for now :) coming up soon I will post some photos from another wedding that I second shot at! Stay tuned!!

xoxo Maggie

email me! :) / visit my website! :)

County Mountie Horse Show | Day 2 | Plymouth, WI Photographer

The next installment of horse show photos :)

Day 2 was the Western/Hunt day. This day was only flat work. So no jumping or dressage. But still lots of people having fun with their horses! It was another beautiful sunny day with a great breeze. Perfect show weather. 

First up are some showmanship classes:

Showmanship is where you show the judge how well you and your horse work together on the ground. So the rider is leading the horse and normally has a pattern to do before getting to the judge. A simple pattern would be walk from cone A to B, trot from B to C, at C present your horse to the judge, and wait to be dismissed. There are more logistics to it than that...but, that is the easy version :)

Next was hunt riding. 

Then, western. This show also does a pretty neat class. It is called therapeutic riding. This is where a 4-H'er lends his or her horse to a disabled person in order for them to be able to ride in a class. At this show it is a walk only with 2 spotters. The spotters are meant to help the person riding the horse in case he or she gets uncomfortable and needs to get off. I love seeing this class because the people that are in it have such a huge smile on their faces the whole time. You can tell it just makes their day!

Here are some more western photos:

If you would like to see more photos from this horse show click here.

Otherwise, happy Tuesday! :D

xoxo Maggie

email me! :) / visit my website! :)

County Mounties Horse Show | Day 1| Plymouth, WI photographer

Goooooooood afternoon :) A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of shooting a 2-day horse show. It was a ton of fun...even if I did get a little too sunburnt. Apparently you are supposed to apply sunscreen more than once during the day. oopssss :) I guess better luck next time! haha.Anyway, the horse show was great and so was the weather considering that it has been kinda rainy and really hot and muggy around here this summer. Day 1 of the show was the all Hunt day.

So there was dressage,

jumping,

and flat work.

Now, for all of you that aren't familiar with horses and what goes on at a horse show, I am going to give you a little lesson :) Most people consider dressage to be like dancing with your horse. In the upper levels (at the olympics and other 4* events) riders and their horses have really complicated patterns that they ride to. A lot of these patterns have special moves where it looks like the horse is trotting really slow with its legs held high, or really extending it's legs out and even pivoting on its hind leg at the canter. I think its really pretty to watch. But that is probably because I have ridden dressage tests and know how hard it is to get your horse to do that. It takes lots of patience and time.

Here are a few more pics from Day 1:

Next will be Day 2! Stay Tuned :D

xoxo Maggie :)

email me! :) / visit my website! :)