Profile on Pat Parelli in APHA's Chrome magazine
Profile on Unbranded's Producer in Chrome Magazine
Last year I traveled to the wilds of South Texas to meet with Cindy Meehl, the executive producer of UnBranded, a documentary chronicling the journey of four young men from Mexico to Canada on mustangs. The trip was a success and the documentary is set to be released this summer, but when I met with Cindy, the men were preparing to begin their epic travels. Cindy was also the director behind the critically-acclaimed documentary Buck.
It was really neat to get to know her, and I love how the article in Chrome turned out. What do y'all think? Read the whole article HERE.
Julie and Chris's Napa Valley Headshots
Zach and I visited our friends Julie and Chris in San Francisco a little while back, and we had a wonderful time exploring Napa and Sonoma's fine wineries. Julie and Chris own an event design company called Yonder, and they needed some photos for promo materials. It was a great excuse to do a photo shoot in a beautiful vineyard! Check out a few below.
A Rugged Old World for Chrome's inaugural issue
The American Paint Horse Association has made some exciting changes in the last year. One of which was a re-energizing of the member experience. A new publication was created just for members called Chrome offering a tantalizing blend of lifestyle articles for the Paint Horse enthusiast. I am proud to contribute to this beautiful publication, and I am excited to share with you some of my articles!
This article was spun out of my visit to Florida to take photos for APHA. We couldn't visit Ocala without stopping at Fox Grove Farm, the home of the late Rugged Lark and now Rugged Painted Lark. Lynn Palm and her husband Cyril Pittion-Rossillon have a beautiful French Country style home. I've been a fan of Rugged Lark since I was little--I still have his Breyer model horse. And come to find out, Cyril trained at Le Cadre Noir in Saumur, France--a place I visited while studying abroad in the area. The couple was so gracious to welcome me into their home for a tour. It was an interesting visit, and I love how the profile turned out. Check it out HERE and below.
Back to work!
photo by Jashley Boatwright
I've spent the last part of 2013 getting acquainted with the newest member of our family: Mr. Wilder Dean Boatwright. Born November 25, he's been a wonderful addition to our lives. Now that it's 2014, I'm excited to jump back into freelance assignments, and I've already got a full plate. I'm looking forward to sharing my projects with y'all as they are published!
Baby Horse Bradshaw
I just posted photos of Diva's equine maternity shoot. Now, you can see what was in that bump! Meet Bradshaw, a precocious foal with a mind of her own! I absolutely love photographing babies--especially of the equine variety… so please sign me up if you have baby horses and you want portraits!
Diva's Equine Maternity Shoot
When my fellow Texas A&M Equestrian team teammate Kate Evans asked me to do a maternity shoot with her beloved mare Diva, I was all about it. When I found out that the HORSE was the one pregnant, I was even more excited. I began googling inspiration online and realized nobody does horse maternity shoots. I couldn't find anything! So that gave me a burst of creativity to try something new. Kate and Diva have been best buds for many years, and this foal means a lot to Kate. Capturing the mare and woman relationship was really special. I'm honored to have photographed the pair and I hope y'all enjoy the photos. I'll post pics of Diva's little baby in a future post!
Clean your boots like a pro article for Horse & Rider
One of my favorite things to do at major horse shows at Will Rogers in Fort Worth and the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds is get my boots cleaned. It's like a pedicure for cowboys. No matter the condition your boots are in, you'll leave with boots like new--or better than new. I wish I could get them cleaned more often by those guys.
So for this article, I picked the brain of one of the pros down at Will Rogers. Frank Holland has decades of experience cleaning boots, and he shared some great tips to recreate that horse show boot-cleaning care at home.
Here's the full article--enjoy!
Conformation article with Dick Pieper for Horse & Rider
It was such a pleasure to work with the legendary Dick Pieper for this article. He shared some functional conformation points he looks for in good performance stock. Hope you enjoy! Read the PDF HERE.
Glasz family portraits
This was a fun shoot with an outgoing family in Cibolo, Texas. I enjoyed getting to shoot them in the beautiful summer sun--hope you like the photos!
Trail Ride with your Show Horse article for Horse & Rider
This was a fun article to write. I'll admit, I'm not a trail rider, mostly because my trust steed Willy was a pain outside arena walls. We tried trail riding and it just wasn't our thing. Maybe if I'd written this article sooner, I'd have had better tools to try the great outdoors! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
If you want to read the PDF, as always, HERE it is.
International Riders article in Quarter Horse Journal
I really love how horses are a common denominator around the world. Whether you're living in France, Australia or good ol' Texas, some things are exactly the same. In this article, I interviewed youth riders from around the world to see what things are the same, and what things are surprisingly different about being an AQHA horse lover. Full article HERE.
Boarding Article for Horse & Rider
I wrote this article for the April 2013 Horse & Rider and it was an interesting topic. I myself was considering boarding options, so it was great to learn from other riders what situations worked best for them. I also got to include a quiz--something I've not done in articles before, but it worked for this one. What do y'all think? You can read the full article HERE.
Campdrafting article in January 2013 American Quarter Horse Journal
This weekend I'm covering America's 1st Campdraft in Kiowa, Colorado. You can see my posts and photos on the American Quarter Horse Association's website HERE. Last spring, I went to Australia for a few weeks. One of the best parts of my trip was attending a campdraft in Beaudesert, Queensland. I wrote a story about campdrafting for the American Quarter Horse Journal and it appeared in the January 2013 issue of the magazine. If you're wondering what this sport is and why Quarter Horses are a really good fit, check out my article.
Happy 2nd Anniversary to Abigail Boatwright Communications!
Two years ago today, I left the Paint Horse Journal and struck out on my own as a freelancer. It's been such an adventure and step of faith. I've been blessed with great editors and found some awesome opportunities. I like reviewing my progress... and looking forward too! I'm going to take a quick look back at ABC's Year in Review if you don't mind:
Publications:
I still write articles for thePaint Horse Journal (woo hoo!) and take photos for Paint Horse Racing occasionally. Both Paint Horse Racing and Paint Horse Connection have gone digital, and in place of Connection in print is Chrome, a lifestyle publication for APHA. I've been writing quite a lot for that magazine this year.
I covered the 2012 NRHA Cowtown Classic and 2012 NRHA Futurity for NRHA's The Reiner. I also wrote a medical article for the publication. I'm sad this year's Cowtown has been canceled and I'll have *just* had a baby during this year's Futurity, so I'm missing my reiners this year!
I've been a regular contributor for Western Shooting Horse since September 2011 and I continue to write two articles for each issue. I've started profiling some ranches with long histories this year and taking photos for my articles with WSH, so that's been a fun addition.
I've written several articles for the American Quarter Horse Journal over the last year, including one from my trip to Australia covering an exciting event called campdrafting. I also wrote a piece about the Australian Outback Spectacular dinner show in Queensland for America's Horse -AQHA's member magazine.
I've written several articles in the last year for Horse & Rider as well! Still one of my favorite horse magazines after all these years.
I covered the Cowtown Classic forQuarter Horse News last year, and this year I covered the APHA Youth World Championship Show reining classes too. I just turned in a profile for QHN honoring the late Gunner - one of the most influential Paint Horses in reining history. It was such an honor to write about him for QHN.
I wrote an article for Western Lifestyle Retailer for the 2012 fall issue. WLR is a special edition published by Cowboy Publishing (Quarter Horse News, Barrel Horse News, Western Horseman) In January, I started a regular assignment writing the Special Advertising Section for Western Horseman each month.
That's another newsstand publication with huge circulation--and one I love reading every month! You won't see my byline, but that's mine! It's been really interesting talking to so many companies I've never spoken with before.
- Future plans: I have a few more magazines I'd like to start working with so I've been trying to think of story ideas that fit them! I'm pitching stories for the rest of this year and early next year soon. Because I'm expecting my first baby in November (Yay!) I'm taking November and December off and I'll be picking back up in January next year. I'm excited about the work I have assigned already and looking forward to what this next year brings in editorial!
Social Media clients:
Last year I began integrating social media reports into my services for social media clients. It's been a great way to tangibly monitor our efforts.
I still work with Salon Friends, providing photos, social media coverage and press releases/media work. It's a great company that got its start around the same time I did, and I've loved watching it thrive.
D. Jones Clothiers is another one I've worked with for two years, and that company's social media presence has grown tremendously. We utilize Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Mailchimp--and after several years with a traditional blog, we're integrating a Tumblr blog. We're revamping the company marketing strategy in conjunction with some really exciting projects, so I can't wait to see what its future holds.
Veritas Life Events s a new company I began working with last year. it's a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of teenagers in a holistic way, which includes exciting trips to places like the Grand Tetons. Social media presence includes Facebook and Twitter, but the future will hold expansions of our current strategies.
I recently started a Facebook fan page for my own work--ironic that it has taken me this long to do it, but I'm liking it so far as a way to aggregate my published work and photos.
- Future Plans: I love the companies I work with, and I hope to improve our strategies to fit their changing needs.
Writing clients:
In the last year, I've written a bio for Jena K Photos, press releases for Salon Friends and marketing work for APHA -- press releases and show coverage from the World Shows especially. This year I even did my first video news production--I wrote parts of a script and put together a short news video that APHA's video team shot and edited at the World Show.
- Future Plans: This aspect of my company fluctuates, but the irregularity of these projects makes it fun to step out of the traditional writing style I typically use. It's collaborative and exciting, and I look forward to doing more.
Photography:
I've shot several portrait sessions, bridal sessions and recently, a wedding that I am currently editing. I invested in even better equipment. I'm learning to shoot video--a critical skill for the direction I'm headed in editorial.
Some photos of mine were used in a Barrel Horse News article, and APHA still uses my photos for marketing and social media--it's always fun to see them pop up!
I've photographed several covers this year, including America's Horse, for which I earned a second place award at AHP (the photo above) :-) I have a cover for Paint Horse Connection, two for Paint Horse Racing and two for the Paint Horse Journal.
- Future Plans: I'm learning to shoot video--a critical skill for the direction I'm headed in editorial. I recently purchases some equipment to help towards that goal, and it should improve my photography as well. I keep attending seminars and webinars to improve this area--I feel like I can always do better!
This next year will be really interesting for my freelance career. I'm working a LOT right now, which is a blessing. I love what I do and it fires me up to have a full plate. I am still going work next year, but I'll be integrating life as a mom as well. We will see what that looks like, but for now, it's full steam ahead. :-)
Thanks for reading! I appreciate it!
Cowtown Classic Coverage in Quarter Horse News
The
is one of my favorite horse shows to cover. Talented reiners gather at Will Rogers to duke it out for some serious cash. Last year I covered the show (candid photos too) for both NRHA and Quarter Horse News. Check out the QHN coverage below. To read the complete article, go HERE.
Custom Clothing Article and Cover in May 2013 Paint Horse Journal
Recently I wrote an article for the Paint Horse Journal about creating your own show clothes with James Saubolle of Elite Show Horses, Heather Lynn Meyer and Suzi Vlietstra of Hobby Horse Inc. I also took the photos with several Youth riders. The Journal published one of my photos on the cover too! Below are the photos and article. You can read the article HERE.
International Shipping article in Barrel Horse News
Last fall, Barrel Horse News used some of my photos from my overseas trip to with Nedpoint for an article about international shipping. Check it out! This is the first time my work has been published in Barrel Horse News. You can read the article HERE.
Chris & Bec's Outback Wedding
Last year, Zach and I traveled to Western Queensland for the wedding of Bec and Chris Brayley. Bec and I met at Texas A&M while she studied abroad. We've kept in touch ever since, and it's been a dream to visit her homeland ever since. As luck would have it, we got to go to her wedding, and we had the privilege of photographing it. We've just said goodbye to our dear friends Chris and Bec after they came to visit us in Texas this past week. It was a privilege to share this couple's special day and I hope you enjoy the photos. The wedding preparations were held at a historic home on Maryvale sheep station, and the wedding took place at Chris's parents' sheep station in Morven. It was one of the most fun weddings I've ever attended!
Equine Mental Health Therapy article for Horse & Rider
Mental health disorders and therapy are a topic close to my heart. With so many tragedies in the news lately especially, I feel strongly about the need for more research to find therapy that works. One such method that has seen great success is the incorporation of horses into therapy. My article for the April Horse & Rider explored equine facilitated psychotherapy for troubled youth, sufferers of disorders such as schizophrenia and especially individuals afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder. Surprisingly, horse therapy also has a place in corporate team building. I hope my article is informative to you. If you have any questions about this avenue of therapy, you can contact one of the sources in the article at PATHintl.org or you can email me at abigail@abigailboatwright.com and I can send you on to one of the other contacts I gathered during my research.