A few shots of my wife Lorraine and a friend Jess having a bit of fun at Escrick Park, just what Sundays are for!

These will only be of interest to those who know me! The are just snaps taken today on a beautiful sunny beach with Bailey our daft dog lapping up the attention.

A few shots of my friends and colleagues on parade at a local gala today, it was an especially big day for new horse Edlington (far left) as he is quite new to the job but he was a (not so) little star.

Something old (Ok thats me!), something new, (the fabulous new arena at Sykehouse), Something borrowed (That'll be Charlie the big hearted grey), Something Blue (Well that was borrowed too, the jacket I wore) A few happy pics of yours truly on his favourite steed from the Grand Opening Day at the fabulously revamped Sykehouse Arena. A great deal of effort and no doubt money!! has gone into upgrading the Arena, almost as much effort as Charie's owner, Ruth put into making me too late to do the clear round and ensuring I did something a little more challenging. Needless to say I did actually have a ball as did Charles and we pulled a 'third' out of the hat, well I say we, Charlie did all the work, I just enjoyed the ride! The pics are courtesy of Ruth who was almost as excited as I was. Happy Days.
Please check out the Arena website via the link, it really is something special and there's always something going on.

If you are anything like me, a ride on horseback on the beach is such a treat that it should be done on a regular basis, Ruth and Sherlock obviously feel that way too as we returned the very next day to the select East Coast spot that is such a favourite for this kind of thing. Both even posed and smiled for a photo at the end (img1431). Fabulous.

Yesterday we revisited what is my favourite stretch of beach to reintroduce Sherlock to the sea and sand. This time I was on foot and so Ruth was solo with her horse and it was a good move! Without having to worry about what I was up to on Charlie they were able to knuckle down and deal with the job at hand.
Not all was ideal, what was a good day for us was perfect for the windsurfers and horses just don't get to see those from their green fields in general but whilst they proved a distraction from time to time the day was a great success and I think the doctor's order is more of the same please!!!
From a personal point of view the pics are the best beach shots I have taken in dealing with the lighting and the art of recording a dark horse whilst retaining detail against often bright surroundings, so a good day for all of us followed by a marvellous meal from David when we returned home.

A few pics from last weekend of Ruth and Janine enjoying the early spring sunshine in North Yorkshire on their beautiful horses

At the request of my friend Ruth these pics are placed on the site. They were taken by her and her husband some time ago at a Giles Carradine XC clinic held at Newton. All are displayed with the permission of the copyright holder

In July 2008 I was asked by a colleague at work if I would be prepared to be a wedding photographer for the day and assist Sarah and Lee. To be honest I wasn't to keen at the time, a wedding is a one off, there are no rehearsals so get the pictures wrong and all is lost. That coupled with the fact that I am no great fan of the usual wedding fayre of posed groups of relatives in identical pictures from wedding to wedding meant I almost said no. Sarah however persuaded me to rethink as they were not looking for formal photographs but snapshots of the day, a reminder of a special time with friends and relatives shown to be enjoying the moment.
I have to say I am so pleased I went along. The day was beautiful, the setting superb, the flowers outstanding and the bride gorgeous. It was a true pleasure to be part of the day and everyone seemed happy with the photographic results. This selection is one of my own and hopefully shows the joy of the day.

These few shots are of the mut that rules the roost at home, namely Bailey the dalmation. Bailey still has to have a cuddle on my wifes lap, has to be 'tucked up' with a cover in his bed at night and always hogs the fire in the front room! I will dig out some more recent pics to add in due course.

In July 2008 Helen one of the girls at work introduced us to a new member of her household, Yogi! These few pictures serve as a reminder of the pup he was then, he's a big boy now though!!!

Following the redevelopment of Doncaster Racecourse SYP Mounted were invited along for the first St Leger festival. Police horses Kendray and Harley did their bit!

In February 2008 officers from the South Yorkshire Police Mounted Section were proud to be invited to head a ceremonial parade through Sheffield to celebrate the return of our troops from Iraq. Police Horses Hallam and Kendray, two elder statesmen of the section, provided sterling service rising to the job at hand with their usual composure.

A November '07 Arena Clinic with Giles. The handfull of shots of yours truly are provided with kind permission of Ruth Dickens .

A handfull of shots taken on Friday 20th Feb '09 at Sykehouse Arena by my friend Ruth Dickens. On this occasion I had borrowed her horse Charlie and spent my hard earned pennies on a lesson with Giles Carradine. It's hard to describe the effect the lesson had on me and the way I worked with Charlie, it was about a lot of things from channelling the energy Charlie presented in a productive way instead of trying to fight with it, it was about giving the horse a chance to react to an aid instead of nagging away at it, it was about allowing an error and trying things differently next time without fuss or stress, it was about fluidity of thought and flexibility, enjoyment, hell I could go on.................at least that's what I got from it!!!! That along with a beaming smile, worth every penny . Check the Arena website and get booked in.

Another selection from a previously displayed shoot, this time the excellent Ackworth Moor Top Ride from 2008. Again the selection is smaller than the original batch and is chosen by me!

First of the previously displayed selections is this one from last year at Grange de Lings. The selection will not be identical to those displayed before, I have just picked out a number that I like personally, enjoy!

A few shots of Sherlocks' progress, this time a visit to Sykehouse Arena for dressage-Visit the Arena web site for upcoming events via the link.

The handfull of pictures displayed are of Ruth and her new horse Sherlock on his very first foray onto the sands. The pictures are not of sparkling quality, they were taken from horseback as best as I could, but they are a record of another adventure and this is of far more importance.It is the 'memory' the pictures re-kindle rather than the images themselves which make them worthy of display. Whilst the marvelous Charlie and I are not included in picture on this occasion we too had a wonderful time building memories.............I can smell the bacon butties now :-)