Mustang Feature in April/May 2012 Western Shooting Horse

I loved researching this story for Western Shooting Horse magazine. There are so many wild horses in the United States and it was really cool to see some of them thrive in this line of work. The photos I was given for the article were interesting--have a look at the full article HERE if you want to learn why Mustangs are the preferred off-road vehicle for the Tucson Border patrol.

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Queso Lena Mas Quarter Horse photoshoot

This is a very special shoot for me to share with y'all today. I began taking riding lessons at eight years old, and my life was forever changed. Throughout my childhood and high school, that riding instructor was a second mother to me and she taught me so much about life, horses and hard work. Last fall, that lady, Alice Scott, asked me to take these photos of her partner's 3-year-old reining horse Queso Lena Mas. You wouldn't know it, but the backdrop is Will Rogers Memorial Center and the horse was at a show. We only had 30 minutes, but I'm really happy with the photos of this young reiner. Hope y'all enjoy this sampling!

Abigail Boatwright Communications Queso Lena Mas NRHA AQHA Quarter Horse Alice Scott Fort Worth Will Rogers memorial Center



Abigail Boatwright Communications Queso Lena Mas NRHA AQHA Quarter Horse Alice Scott Fort Worth Will Rogers memorial Center

Abigail Boatwright Communications Queso Lena Mas NRHA AQHA Quarter Horse Alice Scott Fort Worth Will Rogers memorial Center

Abigail Boatwright Communications Queso Lena Mas NRHA AQHA Quarter Horse Alice Scott Fort Worth Will Rogers memorial Center

Abigail Boatwright Communications Queso Lena Mas NRHA AQHA Quarter Horse Alice Scott Fort Worth Will Rogers memorial Center

Abigail Boatwright Communications Queso Lena Mas NRHA AQHA Quarter Horse Alice Scott Fort Worth Will Rogers memorial Center

Acupuncture for equine reproduction - March 2012 The Reiner

I attended the 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention last November and came home with a treasure trove of story ideas. One seminar I audited was about using acupuncture for equine reproduction benefits. Acupuncture is fascinating, and the benefits for reproduction are astounding. Lucky for me, The Reiner asked me to write an article about it so I got to learn a lot from several experts! Click HERE to see the full article, beginning on page 70.

Abigail Boatwright Communications NRHA The Reiner March 2012 acupuncture equine reproduction

Abigail Boatwright Communications NRHA The Reiner March 2012 acupuncture equine reproduction

March 2012 The American Quarter Horse Journal article

In 2006, I interned at the American Quarter Horse Association in Amarillo, Texas. It was the greatest summer of my life and much of what I learned from that experience I still use today. After I became a freelance writer last year, my former mentors at AQHA approached me to write some articles for them. I was thrilled to join their team and contribute to one of my favorite horse magazines. Here is the first of six articles I have scheduled with The American Quarter Horse Journal. In this article, we take a look at recent trends in horsemanship patterns. You can read the full article HERE.


Abigail Boatwright Communications AQHA Quarter Horse Journal March 2012 horsemanship pattern trends world show

Abigail Boatwright Communications AQHA Quarter Horse Journal March 2012 horsemanship pattern trends world show

Abigail Boatwright Communications AQHA Quarter Horse Journal March 2012 horsemanship pattern trends world show

Abigail Boatwright Communications AQHA Quarter Horse Journal March 2012 horsemanship pattern trends world show

Jennifer and Keith Hancock at the Alamo and Riverwalk

The Hancocks are some of my most favorite people. I was lucky enough to live with them in Amarillo the summer I interned at AQHA, and they've continued to be a blessing in my life ever since. Both Jennifer and Keith attended A&M and they are die-hard Aggies. Their son Garrett will soon be joining the Aggie family as well. I admire Jennifer and Keith most for their beautiful relationship. They are inspiring in how they treat each other. For their 20th anniversary, Keith took Jennifer to downtown San Antonio, the site where they had a very special date when they were first dating. They asked me to take a few photos of them and I was honored. Here's to another 20 years Keith and Jennifer!

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Abigail Boatwright Communications Jennifer Keith Hancock San Antonio Alamo Riverwalk

Wild and Free

I wish I'd taken more photos of Willy. To think of all the hours I spent photographing other horses, and my own gorgeous red horse was right there, waiting to be immortalized. Actually, all he wanted to do was run around and be silly... and then let me ride him chasing cows. That's what we did instead of photo shoots, so I guess it's ok. :-) Here's a photo I did take of him. It reminds me of his unbridled love to run.

Abigail Boatwright Communications Wheelsmith Quarter Horse

Cover photo for 2011 AAEP Convention Wrap-Up!

I am so honored to have my photo chosen as the official cover image for the 2011 AAEP Convention Wrap-Up. You'll recognize the photo as the one I use on my website and business cards--my little bluebonnet-stomping baby is one of my favorite photos! Thanks so much to The Horse for using my image!

Abigail Boatwright Communications The Horse AAEP Convention 2011 Wrap Up bluebonnet paint horse

2012 New Year's Resolutions

I kind of like posting New Year's resolutions to my blog. It keeps me accountable. I guess first, I'll look at last year's resolutions to review.

Kept: Reading a book a month and all my magazines. I started a book club on Facebook and I read 43 books in 2011. Granted a few were via audiobook(hi there, the entire harry potter series), but I more than kept this resolution. Yay!

Kept: Improved my photographer and writing skills. I took several seminars and online classes, and I really feel like I'm making big steps here.

Sort of kept: Keeping to a fitness schedule. I did great till February when I had to travel a lot, didn't do well  till about June, then I worked out 4-5 days a week every week till December. I did a boot camp and I ran a half marathon. I didn't, however, get to my goal weight.

Failed: Well, here's where 2012 resolutions come into play.

1) Balance my time better. This year has been unexpectedly and completely different. My mom passed away in March and I took on all of the family responsibilities that fell on her, in addition to being the administrator of her estate. Zach now manages my mom's bread-making supply store, and we're back and forth from San Antonio to DFW at least once a week. Staying at home on a weekend is a rare luxury. Mainly because of all that entailed, in July I quit my full-time magazine job to freelance. Needless to say, our lives are radically different than January 2011. My work/life balance desperately needs to improve.

2) Be more organized. This is how the work/life balance will change. :-) Zach and I are working together to get us both organized so we cross all our t's and dot our i's, now that we have a lot more on our plates.

3) Travel. It sounds ironic, since we travel every week, but we want to get in some travel for fun this year while our jobs are in a state of flux. We've already booked a short trip to Florida to visit my aunt and get some beach anniversary time, and we're going to New Zealand and Australia for a friend's wedding in March. Other trips are on the horizon, so we'll see where God takes us in 2012.

4) Get settled. Hopefully by the second half of this year, we can return to putting down roots somewhere in DFW.

5) Get fit. I want to get to my goal weight and size. I've slacked off the last few weeks. Makes me sad.  I want to take a consistent stance again and get in the gym/out running. I can do it, it just needs to take priority.

6) Improve my craft. I have a long way to go in photography, and since sharp skills are even more important as a freelancer I look forward to learning more and more through seminars and tutorials. I also got an amazing new camera that gets out of my way so I can take the photos I see in my head!

7) Get another horse. My last horse died in November 2010, and I haven't been able to get another one. I really want to get another horse and stay involved, because this is the first time in 18 years I haven't owned a horse and it's really strange. So, I hope to get a horse this year.

8) Be happy while being a vagabond. Along with this, I want to get this packing thing down pat. We pack every weekend, twice, and it's getting old... it's about to get older, so I might as well embrace it.

I guess those are my New Year's resolutions. Nothing big, right? ;-) Tell me about your resolutions!

Western Shooting Horse Profile on Clint Mortensen

Abigail Boatwright Communications Western Shooting Horse Clint Mortensen

I recently began working with Western Shooting Horse magazine. This was my first published work with them--a profile about silversmith/saddlemaker Clint Mortensen. I really enjoyed getting to know his story. From Eurodisney to Hollywood Western sets, Clint has a colorful history behind his work. Enjoy!

Random Maker Profile on Clint Mortensen

Gohorseshow.com Veteran Article

Abigail Boatwright Communications gohorseshow.com Dan Files Veteran Wounded Warrior


Wounded Warriors Presentation Uses Horses to Honor Veterans full article


I've worked with Dan Files on several articles. I wrote a profile on the disabled war vet and devoted horse owner for the Paint Horse Journal that you can read HERE. Dan is a very special individual, so when the opportunity arose to write about a ceremony he was involved in that honored other veterans, I jumped at the chance. Gohorseshow.com was kind enough to publish my article, and I'm happy to share it with y'all today.

Magnetizing

I was walking around the NRHA Futurity a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a collection of magnets on a door. Because the photo was a flashy Paint, I had to take a closer look. :-) To my delight, they were from the Paint Horse Journal... and the photo was one I took! Such a pleasant surprise and I'm honored APHA chose my photo for advertisement. :-)

So here it is:

Abigail Boatwright Communications APHA Paint Horse Journal

December 2011 issue of The Reiner

Howdy y'all! I'm really excited to share this article with you. It was really technical from an equine medicine standpoint, and I am happy with how it turned out. I also took most of the photos.

Abigail Boatwright Communications the reiner magazine december 2011

You can read the whole article here, starting on page 90. What do you think?

October 2011 Paint Horse Journal

I'm excited to share two articles with you this morning--both courtesy of the Paint Horse Journal. The Paint Horse Journal chose part 1 of my 3-part beginner breeder series titled Great Expectations as their free online article for October!

Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal October 2011 breeding Ann Stockstill Coyote Creek Ranch

Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal October 2011 breeding Ann Stockstill Coyote Creek Ranch

Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal October 2011 breeding Ann Stockstill Coyote Creek Ranch


The second article, Showing Solo, is a Youth-geared story that's chock-full of tips on how to show without a full-time trainer. What do you think?

Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal October 2011

Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal October 2011

Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal October 2011

Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal October 2011

October 2011 The Reiner magazine

Abigail Boatwright Photography NRHA The Reiner Cowtown Classic Quincy Cahill Allen
Quincy Cahill Allen at the NRHA Cowtown Classic

I love seeing the digital version of a magazine because oftentimes there are additional nuggets of information. Such is the case for NRHA's official publication The Reiner--they have videos embedded in many of the articles! I covered the NRHA Cowtown Classic at the end of August, and it was my first time to work with NRHA. I wrote three articles from the event. My articles and photos were published in the October issue of The Reiner starting on pages 60, 66 and 86. Check out the digital edition of the magazine if you like!

September 2011 Paint Horse Journal

I wrote these articles during my last few weeks at APHA, but I wanted to share them with you because they were recently published. The APHA Youth World is always my favorite World Show, if I had to pick one, and I love getting to know the future horsemen of our industry. I've also included two of the columns I regularly wrote. All articles are courtesy of the Paint Horse Journal. What do you think?


Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal September 2011 twins Byron Lindaman

Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal September 2011

Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal September 2011 APHA Youth World Show Taylor Prince

Abigail Boatwright Communications Paint Horse Journal September 2011 APHA Youth World Show Marcus Banister

Is my man a Dr. Pepper Cute Boy?

So my favorite blog, I Hate Green Beans, has been running a contest that involved cute boys and Dr. Pepper. The perfect combo, wouldn't you say? For September, there are 5 photos competing. The winning photo will be included in an official Dr. Pepper calendar, AND, the submitter wins a YEAR's supply of Dr. Pepper.



So... my husband Zach is one of the photos this month!!! If you feel like it, go comment on the I Hate Green Beans post and vote for him. Thanks! :-) If we win, I'll share our Dr. Pepper with you :-)

Abby