Doing what you love with a Smile!

Barrel Racing is a huge sport in the great state of Texas, I photograph quite a few events each week which means I see a lot of photos every day for all of these amazing runners.  One thing I love is to see someone so full of life, enjoying what they are doing.

Lacey Walker-Soderberg is no exception, the happy 13 year old who attends middle school has only been barrel racing for a little over a year.  She makes it so easy when you see her out there on her two barrel horses "Harry and Zeke".    Both horses to her are so sweet and reliable and she loves what she's doing.

Her goals are to have fun, win money and hopefully make her way to some rodeos one day.

Next time you see this little lady out there competing on one of her two barrel horses.   Watch her as she rounds those barrels and she always has a big smile on her face as she's headed home.

American Senior 2017

Yesterday I had the pleasure of Session 2 for Mary Smith, Weatherford Texas Session 2.  We captured her first session at at Historic Fort Worth Stockyards not long ago and she wanted to incorporate where she spends a lot of her time into session 2.

I see this pretty young lady and thought, Let's give her have a flag and show a strong independent young lady.  I felt we captured a perfect moment in lite of whats happening in Dallas and surrounding cities in the United States.

The last thing I wanted to do was turn her session into a political event, but I wanted to show that we are proud americans, she has her future ahead of her and I Hope she lives a free life full of dreams and she gets to fulfill them.

Celsey Rater " Barrel Racer"

Celsey Rater of Boyd Texas has been barrel racing her entire life (with the exception of one year pursuing a college basketball career).

She has been training for the public right at 2 years, along with training she also conditions and sells horses and gives lessons.

Her biggest accomplishment to date is winning Diamonds and Dirt amateur futurity in 2014 on her first horse to train TF Miss Savage.
  She also made the BFA amateur futurity finals in that same year but due to a fractured coffin before the finals she didn't get to compete.

She currently loves to help other people and their horses and watching them go on to do great things.

Futurity Life is what excites her and currently has 2 talented 3 year olds that she can't wait to get back to the futurities on.

Last night making a beautiful run on Prissy Fast One (Peach) at NRS Event Center Decatur Texas will show you what a tough competitor she really is.

If your looking for a trainer, need a sale horse conditioned or need riding lessons.  Don't forget about Celsey Rater.
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www.JoHPhotography.com

Destiny Turner Ponder Senior 2017

I had the pleasure of capturing Destiny Turners Senior 2017 photos today; she will be graduating from Ponder, Texas High School next summer.

Destiny has been riding since the tender age of 9 and her career started at a riding club in Magnolia Texas where she won her first buckle.

Her current barrel horse "Dollar" has taken her many places; the 16year flashy sorrel and Destiny have been to the NBHA World Show placing in the top 30% out of 1800 barrel racers.

Not bad for a horse she only paid $10 for!

She has won numerous races as well as 3 buckles so far on Dollar; competing in New York  and now that she has made Texas her home she has brought that lucky charm (Dollar) to the winners circle and is now placing in the local events around North Central Texas.

The next time your at a race in our area, keep an eye out for this team, they'll be in the winners circle.

www.JoHPhotography.com

Mika Shakelford 1D Champion

Mika Shakelford, 14, a freshman at Jacksboro High School in Jacksboro Texas has been on fire.  She is a regular competitor and winner at historic Cowtown Colesium at the Rodeos on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Last night she added to her list of accomplishments by winning the 1D (fastest time) at Wild West Promotions July Explosion.  There were a total of 190 runners and to be the fastest is not something just anyone can do.

Barrel Racing is a rodeo sport that was thought to of been invented in Texas in 1948 by a group of women who wanted a sport to compete in at the local rodeos.  At the time the GRA (Girls Rodeo Association) consisted of 74 members and was approved for 60 tour events.  The GRA was specifically for women, later changing their name to WPRA (Womens Professional Rodeo Association).

Barrel Racing is one of the fastest growing sports, it shows off the athletic ability of the horse as well as the horsemanship skills of the rider.

Todays Riders start at an early age and with many organizations to compete in added money, buckles and awards are up for grabs on a regular basis.

Mika happens to be one of the top competitors in the barrel racing scene in Texas and currently holds 5th place i the UPRA standings.  Not an easy task to do with the tough competitors in this great state of Texas.

Keep an eye out folks, this is a name you won't soon forget.

2017 Seniors

The past year I have grown as a portrait photographer, I still make alot of mistakes and miss things during the session but what I learned was that I needed help.  I reached out to Terri Cage to see if she would mentor me and since then I have seen alot of growth in my photography.  She see's things I never thought about.

I've started to go back thru the photos I choose for the client and write down the things I think I can improve on, in hopes that those things will make my next session better.

Nothing against the person in front of the camera, I'm the director, I have to direct them to help them have the best photos ever.

I once thought about stopping portraits - but I really enjoy them, I laugh alot during the session and it helps me to get to know the barrel racers at a more personal level than if they were coming to pick out their event photos from a race I cover.

Photography is a growth, you never know it all, you'll never stop learning.  I can't wait to see how my photos progress after another year.
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