I had a dream about doing a shoot with my beautiful horse Brontë with the sombrero I brought back from my recent Colombian adventure. With the help of my team, we transformed North Carolinian boarding barn Shooting Star Farm into a little piece of South America for the day.
Cheryl Bell, the multi-talented equestrian director of Shooting Star Farm agreed to be our talent. Cheryl is a former trick rider so I knew she was perfect for this shoot.
Prep began weeks in advance - one of the things I wanted Cheryl to do was to stand on Brontë so we tested her to see if she would allow that - Brontë passed with flying colors.
It is definitely more challenging to work with animals on a shoot but honestly it was so incredibly fun! Our lovely intern and equestrian Caitlin, bathed and primped Brontë. She braided her mane so Brontë would have waves and scrubbed her until she was super clean. I am not sure Brontë was too impressed but she sure did look gorgeous. And it turns out that Brontë is a perfect model and she did everything we asked and more!
Our uber-talented hair and makeup stylist Alison, transformed Cheryl into a dama a caballo.and then the fun began.
Hope you enjoy!
~Stacey
“The horse, with beauty unsurpassed, strength immeasurable and grace unlike any other, still remains humble enough to carry a (wo)man upon his back. ”
If you’d like to learn more about the sombrero vueltiao and how they are made: Sombreros Vueltiao
Want to see more of this equine shoot? Brontë’s Golden Hour
PHOTOGRAPHY: STACEY VAN BERKEL
EQUINE TALENT: BRÈAGHA BRONTË
TALENT : CHERYL BELL
HAIR & MAKEUP : ALLISON DODGE
WARDROBE STYLING : STACEY VAN BERKEL
ASSISTANTS: RENEE SAUNDERS + CAITLIN HORAN
LOCATION: SHOOTING STAR FARMS
EARRINGS + BLACK JEANS : ANTHROPOLOGIE