Surefire report from photographer Lindsay Berreth

You know when you are walking (or riding) around an event and you notice the photographers standing there all day with those huge cameras?  Well, as part of our ongoing interest in showcasing the many fascinating roles in the eventing community, it is my pleasure to bring you the perspective of a photographer from Surefire horse trials this weekend.  Thanks Lindsay for writing this and thank you for reading.  Link: Surefire results

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From Lindsay:

For those who don’t know me, I event in Area II and attend most events as a rider. But I also work for GRC Photo, who shoots many events in Virginia and Maryland. I love photographing eventing, even if it’s just beginner novice, because it can be so educational to see how each horse and rider handles a question. And as a rider, I know how I feel when I see that “perfect shot”; the one that captures a great cross country round or that first clear training level stadium course on a horse you’ve brought along yourself.
So, this weekend, I was free lancing at Surefire. And it was hot! Upper 90’s with high humidity. But I guess that’s what you get for eventing in June in Virginia. I was stationed at the water jump for the first level to go on Saturday, which was Intermediate. I heard through the grapevine that the course was a bit soft, but that’s probably a good thing since we haven’t had a good rain for awhile and the ground was a bit hard.  But the Surefire crew did a great job getting it ready aerating it and adding stone dust and gravel when needed The water jump had a nice bright blue color, something I haven’t seen much of at events in Virginia and Maryland, so that might have contributed to some issues, but overall, the intermediates rode the water nicely. From my vantage point, I could also see the bank, which had a huge drop to a skinny. 
Novice was next for the afternoon, and I had to move from my comfortable, shady spot by the water to the middle of Surefire’s beautiful rolling hills to shoot the beginning of the course. The views were breathtaking, but I was baking out there! Lucky for me I had my handy lawn chair with a roof on it that provided some relief. I got some great shots over fence three in particular, a nice coop/ramp jump which came after a nice gallop from fence two. It rode well and everyone was nice and forward over it.
By the time novice was about half-way through, the jumping phases were running over an hour late, so I heard (via announcer Brian O’Connor) that the beginner novice stadium was shortened and that a division of BN would run cross country first to make up the time. Somehow, the event only ended up running a half hour late, so kudos to everyone for making it happen!
Sunday morning, I started out shooting prelim. They had a roll-top to a drop in, to a cabin out. It rode very well and I got some pretty great photos in the morning light. Brian O’Connor announced that horses were finishing well despite the rapidly rising temperatures, and there was a cooling station on hand at the end of the course, which I’m sure was appreciated.
Luckily, I stayed at the water jump all day and had some shade. The training was interesting. They had a roll-top, down a slight hill to a bank into water, then out over a log. About 60% of the riders actually cantered through the water first, then presented to the combination, and most were successful. I’m not sure if it was the blue water or the bank, but there was a quite a bit of trouble.
Overall, I saw a lot of really good riding. We all survived the heat, and the Surefire crew was great, even offering me some food, drink and a ride on the Gator. That was much appreciated considering I wasn’t an official volunteer. Eventers are such friendly people, looking out for each other even on the hottest of days.
Now I’m looking forward to taking my OTTB to school there this week. Then on to the Maryland Horse Trials to sweat some more!
Thanks,
Lindsay Berreth

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