2018 North American Youth Championships | Photography

Last year’s Youth Championships (then known as Young Riders) was the first event where I really felt like photography was something I had a passion for. Now, a year later, I’ve upgraded some of my gear, have many more shows under my camera strap, and have found that photographing events is my favorite part of my job. 

This year, the event was held at one of my favorite venues—and a pretty picturesque one at that—Old Salem Farm in New York. We opted to skip the first few days of the event, so my first day there was a mix of show jumping team competition and dressage individual competition. Aside from high humidity and heat that had everyone melting, it was a beautiful morning for a show. The afternoon wasn’t as pleasant, and I made the easy choice to bail before a thunder storm rolled in and the sky opened right as the Young Riders started.

The rain carried into the next morning, postponing the start times to the afternoon and giving me some time to rest as I woke up with what would end up being a respiratory infection (fun stuff when you’re traveling). After a few hours shooting the Junior’s dressage individual tests, I headed back to my hotel to wallow in my sickness.

The final day consisted of the show jumping individual finals, kicking off with the Childrens. Some of my favorite photos from 2017 came from the finals, and this year definitely didn’t disappoint. Plus, getting to photograph some of the top names from the younger side of the sport is always fun.

-TC