Horse and Rider

[jmr]

At a showjumping competition in Saumur, France.

DSCF1152.jpg

[stuny]

John -

I guess we don't have very many equestiran fans here. The rider seems to have dropped back to a trot after clearing the last fence, and is turning to take the next one. I really like the sharp focus and light on the Lt., and the sense of motion by leaving the mount out of focus. Do you see many rigged with a Martingale in France, as on this bay?

[jmr]

Stuart,

thanks for that. Can't say I've really noticed that many martingales generally, but I guess they're more common in showjumping.

Saumur, where this was taken, is the home of the National School of Horsemanship, the Cadre Noir, and is also a big Cavalry town. They have tanks as well as horses these days, but they military still puts a huge amount of effort into their history. The surrounding countryside in the Loire valley is well stocked with rather fine horses.

The town also has a large steel horse on the approach from the north on the payage, it must be 30 feet high. Here's a picture of it.

L1010825.jpg

[hm1912]

A great action shot. I love how the rider is looking (presumaby) at the next jump while the horse's face is still forward. The slight blurring also gives a great sense of speed. I tried to take a bunch of similar photos (although primarily of them jumping) at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh, but I have yet to develop the prints.

Thanks for sharing. And have you got any details (camera, speed, etc.)?

[jmr]

Ilan,

it's one from the archives. I took it in June 2001 with my first digital camera, a Leica Digilux 4.3. It was around about 1/200s at f7. Focal length about 100mm in old money.

[hm1912]

Thank for the info!

Best,