Amy Howard Dressage | Dianna & Daunus

black background portraits, equestrian, horse & rider portraits

Dianna and Daunus enjoy the sunset at Amy Howard Dressage

I photographed Dianna & Daunus at Amy Howard Dressage in Ringoes, NJ and the facility is just stunningly gorgeous. I mentioned multiple times that evening that I’d likely eat off their barn floors, because they were just so clean! Forget the 10 second rule! But as I was saying – Amy Howard Dressage is just a beautiful facility and Dianna, Daunus and I were so lucky to get the most spectacular sunset and golden light.

Another session with all the fall feels – and yes, again, I’m realize I’m horribly behind on blogging! I have to say, though, that I do love revisiting images from sessions that are “out of season”. For instance, in the middle of summer, I REALLY love seeing the beautiful fall leaves and all of the reds and oranges (flashback to Jinny & Carboni’s session!). In the middle of winter it’s like, a breath of fresh air to see all of the gorgeous lush greenery in the summer portraits.

Amy Howard Dressage, Hopewell, New Jersey

The Amy Howard Dressage facility is located in beautiful Hopewell, NJ, in Hunterdon County. Located at Crosswinds Farm, they offer boarding, dressage training, horse shopping/sales, showing, and clinics. It’s a full service, full board facility and it’s just absolutely stunningly well-kept and maintained. And beyond that, the property itself is really spectacular. You can get a glimpse of it in the highlights from Dianna’s session below. The farm is also conveniently located near the Amwell Valley Trail system, with miles and miles of amazing trails. If you’re looking for elite dressage training at an immaculate and well-appointed facility, the farm totally fits the bill!

Dianna, who does dressage, traveled to Brazil to go horse shopping. She came home with this gorgeous, stunning, absolutely beautiful Lusitano stallion, Daunus Interagro. Not only is he a total showstopper – he has an incredibly sweet, kind personality. ALSO – he has zebra striped legs! I’d never seen legs like his! I couldn’t help but fawn over him just a little extra; honestly, he did not seem to mind the attention.

Not knowing much about Lusitanos (or dun horses), I felt a bit of research was in order. Turns out those incredible zebra stripes on Daunus’s legs are what you would call leg barring. Along with the dark dorsal stripe on a dun horse, these are primitive markings and you can find them on dun horses of many breeds. Who knew? You can find a ton more information about the dun coloring on the UC Davis website. I realize I may be biased, I find it fascinating. It’s easy to see why Dianna was immediately taken with Daunus and his unusual coloring.

We had an evening of gorgeous weather and beautiful light. I cannot tell a lie, these images have me fiending for a PSL and a warm sweater. I LOVE FALL!

Dianna has since sold Daunus and he’s found a new loving home. I wish Daunus all the best with his new family!