‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the farm, the creatures were stirring—for Jasmine was charmed! I am utterly delighted to bring you the full-on, crazy family frolic I had with the Kerrs on Christmas eve. Pixie and Freddie, the family’s pony and horse, were a total treat to shoot, but it was those two crazy girls, Hannah and Erin, that really did me in. Not only are they high-energy, crazy, horseback-riding maniacs, but when they were finished jumping the horses—they ran the jumping course themselves. Yes, they were that kind of nuts, and it was ridiculously fun. David and Rebecca, you’ve got two crazy-awesome girls on your hands. Not to mention horses! This shoot was an especially lovely opportunity. I am not a winter person (understatement of the year) and tend to loathe the notion of going home for the holidays. For me, this lent me a special perspective on how winter can be magical, dreamy, and full of wonder. I usually get caught up in all the slush and ice and –20° and blizzards and end up wanting to just hibernate the season away. This special excursion gave me the chance to see winter from a much lovelier light. Super-highlights of the day for me were getting to see how the stables are run (for example, they deliberately keep a variety of animals roaming freely in the stables, in order to keep the horses from becoming skittish), getting to trek around in the snow with the horses in tow, and watching the girls egg each other on in their craziness—especially, what they refer to as, “BOO-YAH!”—a cow-roping-kinda dance move that only they can pull off. Kudos go to David and Rebecca for being able to keep up with the little munchkins. Without further adieu—it’s time for a ponyparty!
CRAZY, BEAUTIFUL. I want to live on a farm and ride horses all day. Love this session, Jas. Those girls are super adorable!
Oh, gosh, Daisy—thank you! Me, too! I guess I have to learn to ride, first… hee hee. Those girls were hams… like older versions of your girls!
Gorgeous photos! I love snow, and I love horses so naturally they knocked my socks off.
Thanks, Holly! I’m not the biggest lover of snow, but I have a newfound appreciation thanks to seeing how these horses make magic of it.
TOO MUCH FUN!!!
It should be illegal. :)
Those horses are almost as cute as the girls… ALMOST! Great session, Jas! Super duper winter wonderland.
Yep, they gave it a good shot, but they couldn’t compete with those leaping kids ;)
I am experiencing the slightest tidbit of winterwonderlandism (which is a lot for me, considering my distrust of winter).
These are so beautiful! What a fun time to look back on and remember. :)
These will certainly carry me through the winter… it’s just about as much snow as I need in my life. :D
Beautiful pictures! Lovely family and gorgeous horses! Looks like it was such a lovely day to take some pictures as well.
We really lucked out that day. Being that I live in a very pleasant climate, I was afraid that the striking weather change would make it challenging for me to shoot. But it really worked out to be a lovely day. Crisp, yes, but full of goodness.
What an adorable family! Such a great set of photos.
The dusting of snow does give everything a majestic sort of feel to I think.
And to think that Rebecca was actually disappointed at the lack of snow! She’d confessed she was bummed out that there hadn’t been much snowfall in Ontario by that point. But the dusting felt just right, really. Certainly made it easier for me to manage trekking around without snowboots!
this is pure magic. MAGIC. winter magic and i love it!! i so utterly love all these images
I *knew* you would love it so—you would totally have loved to experience real Canadian winter. Though Montreal was BRUTAL for two days… –18 or –28 with windchill!
wow. these are so incredibly magical and dreamy and gorgeous. you do rock.
Aw, you are too kind, Nicole. Thank you. With such a CRAZY busy month, let alone year, it was lovely to wrap it up with this kinda magic.
Lovely and joyful! Also, how amazing are those lassie’s hats? I want one!! ;)
RIGHT?!?! They let me wear a ladybug hat. I felt like a cool kid. So totally cute. When Rebecca asked me what they should wear, and I said, “whatever is comfortable and cute” I *didn’t* see that coming!
Lovely frolic session! They certainly look like a fun bunch. And my favorite shot is the white horse peeking through the fence.
Tough for me to pick a favourite… but you definitely can tell I had a little love affair with that white horse in the white snow… ;) Thanks!
Those girls are just too sweet! Seriously, I need an animal hat!
The horses, the snow, it’s just all so magical. Beautiful work Jasmine.
YES, I think it’s time we all acquired some of these incredible hats. I shall have to go to the source to inquire about acquiring one! Thanks so much, Jade!
I had a big smile the whole time while looking at these photos. You have really captured a lovely time with a fun family and their horses in winter, when winter is easy to deal with (if you don’t like winter). And how lovely that the sun shining, helping to make it a lovely day. Pure happiness. Have Rebecca and David seen these yet?
They have, now! Yeah, this day was a far cry from the Montreal brutality that soon followed suit. Thanks, Mumma.
Beautiful pics Jas… :-)
Thanks, Laura! I’ll have photos from Christmas eve along soon, too!
Love everything about it. Frolicking about in the snow, the straw, atop a horse, and in knitted animal hats. (My friend, Evelyn, aka Momsicle online, has a pig hat. I’m going to show her this post…)
The horses remind me of my dog (who would also fare better with other animals around, probably even a chicken); and I love their big soft eyes. You’ve really captured their gentle souls.
But, man, when I see that cloud-frozen breath and tundra field, I am reminded of last winter in Brooklyn. To think it’s been in the 70s here, whoop!
Gentle souls—perfect description of these sweet creatures. Thanks, Lauren!
If you thought winter in Brooklyn was bad, I’d dare you to try the 10-hour drive north to Montreal. How I survived twenty years there, I shall never know.
WOW!!! Delightful. We all sat down and looked at the beautiful pics together. There were so many “awww’s”….and so many giggles!!! Fantastic job capturing a fantastic day. We were spoiled and so fortunate to have you join us on xmas eve….and create these memories. Wow….magic. You’re so special, we love you so much. Thanks so much Jas <3 We will be getting you a special hat!!! We get them at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (always in Nov). They make ALL sorts....you must send your preference. We can't wait to share the pictures. They are stunning.
Much love xoxoxoxo David, Rebecca, Hannah and Erin
Yay! Yay! I am so happy you guys like these. There are more, in fact—I just couldn’t possibly fit everything here. You shall have them all soon!
Don’t worry about the hat: I already found them online! I can’t decide if I like the owl or the raccoon better, they’re both ridiculous and great. :D
This seems like such a super fun photo shoot to do. I think you captured every single perfect moment!
It was even more fun than it looked. The toughest part was just keeping up with everyone—multiple people with multiple horses meant I was bouncing around like a crazy person… :)
Glad to hear you have a new appreciation for Winter–it’s snowboarding season after all!
Wonderful job capturing it all. Your style definitely shines through even in an unfamiliar environment. Love the shot of the little girl leaping over the red X! And I’m reminded of how long it has been since I did riding!
Nah, still not a snowboarder. I am, however, interested in yet another thing it turns out you do. Climbing, cycling, snowboarding, salsa, marshall arts—man, what *don’t* you do, Evan?!
Thanks, dude!
oh my gah… SNOW AND PONIES?!!! it is like my dream! and you got to live it and photograph it? i am so jealous! it’s so picturesque…
You absolutely would have crazy loved it. It really was dreamy and picturesque. I think I need to spend more time rurally!
Bravo girlfriend. Those are FANTASTIC! I think my favorite yet. What a great family. Did they have goats? You know I’m a sucker for goats. :)
Thanks, Jennifer! I believe there were sheep, but no goats. I, too, am a sucker for them! I ran out of time to shoot the sheep, sadly.
These are gorgeous, Jasmine! Those little munchkins are adorable!
Happy New year, lady xo
Oh, Amanda, thanks! Yep, cute-as-can-be, those girls. Helps offset the negative kid energy we experienced on the flight over to enjoy such wonderful kids.
The light snow on the ground, all the smiles from those two gorgeous girls — I think you captured so many beautiful, fun moments with these photographs. I’ve never spent much time with horses, but now I’m definitely thinking about how nice it would be to take a little trip to a ranch like this one. Happy New Year, Jas!
Oh, do, do! You will love it—Virginia is so close to you and there is much magic there. Happy new year!
hey there! i just wanted to let you know how much i LOVE these photos. rebecca and the family are very good friends of mine, and you managed to snap a few photos here of my own horsie (the one giving freddie horsie kisses!) thank you for taking the time to come out and capture the beauty at twisted pine!
Oh my gosh. I love these.
Thanks, Bridge!
This is by far one of my all-time-fav family photos! Your photos definitely pulled me into their world. Such beautiful light captured!
Thanks so much, Karleen! They definitely live in a pretty awesome world…cold, but awesome!