A Final Goodbye, Sunny | Equine Photography, Witton Castle, County Durham

Honouring the bond between horse and human — one last time.

Some partnerships are just something else. From the moment I first heard about Chloe and Sunny, I knew they were one of those pairs. I had followed their eventing journey for years, watching from the sidelines as they competed together, and felt nothing but admiration for what they had built as a team. I even had the absolute privilege of entering an event alongside them as pairs and I can honestly say that riding beside Chloe and Sunny is something I will never forget. You were so FAST!

So when Chloe asked me to photograph their final goodbye, I felt the weight and the honour of that in equal measure.

Eight years. Eight years of trust, of partnership, of early mornings and hard work and that unspoken language that only a horse and their person truly understand. That is not just a hobby. That is a relationship. That is a chapter of a life.

The Session, Sunny at Witton Castle

We spent our time together in the beautiful grounds of Witton Castle, and the setting could not have been more perfect. The woodland paths, the open fields, the quiet of the stable, every corner of that place seemed to hold space for something tender and real.

Sunny was magnificent. Her grey dappled coat was simply stunning against the greens of the trees and the soft light of the day, and she carried herself with such quiet dignity throughout. There is something about a grey mare in woodland that feels almost otherworldly, and Sunny embodied that completely.

We captured Chloe and Sunny walking the paths together, her hand in Sunny's mane, lost in their own world. We captured the gentle moments foreheads together, Chloe's arms wrapped around her neck, faces close in that way that only years of trust allows. We captured Chloe riding her one last time through the trees, the two of them moving together just as they had done across so many competition arenas over the years.

One of my favourite images from the day is of Chloe sitting quietly beside her in the stable doorway, just the two of them, the world outside carrying on as though nothing had changed. That image says everything that words cannot.

The Privilege of Being Trusted

I will not pretend these sessions are easy. How could they be? But I would never, not for a single moment, wish to be anywhere else.

To have followed this pair for so long, to have shared even a small piece of their journey, and then to be the person chosen to document their final chapter together that is not something I take lightly. It is one of the greatest honours my work has ever given me.

Chloe, thank you. Thank you for trusting me with something so precious, and for letting me be there on one of the hardest days. I hope that every time you look at these images, you see exactly what I saw a partnership that was rare and real and utterly beautiful.

Run free, Sunny. 🤍