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Equinetourism.co.uk - Editorial Feature |
Sally Huett, Exmoor Photographer |
In her own words, Sally Huett explains what has inspired her to create an extensive portfolio of images, taken from horseback as she has explored Exmoor over the years...
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"I’ve been living on Exmoor for over 20 years and have gained great pleasure over the years in getting to know the area I love by my explorations on horseback. It truly is the most wonderful riding country I have ever had the privilege to explore. My mare, Alma, and I have been together for fifteen years now and have enjoyed so many fantastic rides in all seasons and weathers; the variety of the riding is second to none, from long fast gallops across the heather moorland to gentle ambles alongside bubbling brooks, through beautiful woodlands and across long stretches of grassy fields. We are blessed, indeed, with a brilliant and well maintained bridleway network, and also lots of places to ride freely and to simply enjoy being off the beaten track. Two years ago, Alma and I started to ride as a threesome … with Nik, my much loved, well worn, and slightly battered but none the worse for wear digital camera! It’s a simple Nikon Coolpix 2000, nothing fancy but small and compact and easily carried and used from horseback. Alma, being a grand old lady of 26 now, learned very quickly to stand still when the camera comes out and, on the whole, is very good about keeping (fairly) still until I tell her to go on. Sometimes, when we’ve been out on a day ride armed with sandwiches and apples of course, and we’re homeward bound, she’s perhaps not so good at the “motionless” pose and tends to move off as soon as she hears the shutter click! But that’s the beauty of digital photography – download ‘em all onto the computer and delete the blurry ones! I’ve had such a lot of fun over the years in discovering new places to ride and enjoying all the well-known places too; every part of Exmoor looks, smells and feels different at different times of the year. Porlock Hill, Doone Valley, Alderman’s Barrow …. they are all very different in the swirling mists, or driving sleet and hailstones, to how they are in the heat of the June sun! There's such a lot of beauty to be enjoyed....... when the heather's out in its fully glory in August, there's no place on earth like the moors; and in deepest, frostiest winter, the fields and trees are beautiful when they're all sparkling and glistening whiteness. I love being in the woods in autumn - so colourful, it's like riding through a painting sometimes; and in the heart of summer riding through streams and rivers is so lovely and cooling and the sun sparkles off the water and ........ oooooooh, it's just glorious! Possibly, my very favourite ride of the year is the one where we see the first primroses in the hedgerows …. that marks the nearness of the end of mornings of mucking out and breaking ice off water troughs and is full of the promise of another glorious summer of riding! One of the real bonuses of riding on Exmoor, other than walking or cycling, is the close proximity you can find yourself to the wildlife. Often, we can go slowly and carefully, making little noise, very close to herds of Red Deer and wild Exmoor ponies – they take no notice of riders on horseback providing you’re very careful not to worry them in any way. It’s wonderful to be able to take photographs of the deer, ponies, and sometimes even foxes and buzzards … somehow they just don’t seem to mind horses getting close, whereas a person on foot would have difficulties! Yep, Exmoor truly is “The riding playground of England”, as Cecil Aldin quite rightly described it, and there's just no better way to see it all than from Alma's back, or, occasionally, when I feel like stretching my legs, just ambling along beside her feeling her gently blowing warm breath down my neck. Ah, bliss ... that's what it is!" Sally Huett 12.07.04 |
| CLICK HERE to return to Sally's Photo Album |
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