Day 6

Our last day at MCC farm.  We had planned to set off really early and catch the stallions in their field at sunrise.   As soon as it gets light we set off. We find the stallions in a field some ten minutes walk from our house.  They seem to be in groups of four and five, but one stallion stands alone and in a particular spot. He is the lead stallion and seems to have his powerbase all sorted out. 

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The plan is for me to drive the stallions around a specific tree with lovely hanging branches, so that Colin can photograph his shots against the rising sun. What we had not bargained for was the damp grass.  

.  Somehow, we had not associated Texas with boggy ground.  I am wearing my desert boots, sinking ever further into the damp grass - at times by several inches.  Undeterred, I ‘plough’ on.  Colin positions himself in the right place as I attempt to drive the herd past his camera. At one point, I catch him laughing his head off.  I stop. “What is so funny?”
“You should hear your boots squelching!”   I am not giving up. 

After several circuits, I go to Colin to see how he is getting on. Out of breath and exhausted, I realise that I must have run about a couple of miles in sinking mud.  Colin is not sure about the lighting effect.  “Perhaps we could bring them around the other way…?” he says, not worrying about me running around in deep mud, but the calendar comes first, so I continue. This goes on for another half an hour, but the results will not make a calendar shot. 

The Sun is now fully up and the magic light is beginning to fade. We gracefully give up and set off for home to prepare for our other set-up, which is photographing a couple of mares and a foal along the beautiful tree-lined drive of MCC farm. This too proves to be a challenge as the lighting contrast is too great, but with the help of some flash lighting we manage to get a few nice shots.

The foal seems to be enjoying the adventure and keeps leaping about, exploring everything in sight.  Great to watch, but not so helpful when you are trying to shoot a calendar.  

Eventually we manage to get several good shots and pack up. We go back to our residence, pack everything up and load the car…

We walk up to Felix and Joyce’s house to say our farewells and thank them for their warm hospitality, generosity, and help. We also thank Sandra in the office and the Milan family, without whom we could not have managed such a productive photographic trip.  How kind they have all been. Felix has also stayed behind to see us off.  Goodbyes are said, with lots of hugs, before we drive away in the warm Texas sunshine.

We decide to drive slowly back to Huston along the country roads, reflecting on the last five days…the farm animals, the rodeo experience, the wonderful Caspians all in one place and the amazing Covingtons and their helpful staff.  How grateful the Caspian Horse should be to them for what they are doing.  I wonder if enough people appreciate their efforts? We certainly did. 

Off to Huston Airport to fly back to England. Colin reminds me that I will be celebrating my birthday in mid-Atlantic! Oh yes of course. I had forgotten that.

Sweden diaries coming soon...