Janet & Nova

I have known Janet for close to 8 years and I first met them when she moved down here and was needing a house sitter.  I went and interviewed for the job and got it.  At the time they had 2 horses and 2 minis and 2 dogs.  They had a cute little house in the foothills of North Carolina, but at the time she was driving back and forth to Ohio to finish up getting ready to get her farm ready to sale.  They were gone quiet a bit so I house sat for them a lot, but luckily they didn’t live to far.  The more I house sat for them the closer we got.  We started trail riding, going on fun adventures and finding new places to eat.

It wasn’t long after they moved down here that they bought a few new horses and Nova was one of them.  Janet fell in love with her at first sight.  It takes a lot to fall in love with a mare (I’m a gelding person) but she knew there was something different about her.  Not long after that they sold their farm down here, moved back to Ohio for the winter to finish up getting ready for her farm to sale before they moved back down here.  After they moved back down here they bought a cute little farm at Love Valley and built their dream barn and found a place where they could retire and ride horses every day.

Nova got a pink stall in the new barn and even a door that looks into the tack room.  She is a princess through and through.  Not long after they moved down here, Nova started having some health issues.  It took a lot of local vets and state school vets to finally pin down what was going on.   Through all of it, Janet stood by her side even though most vets told her to go ahead and put her down because it took so much rehabbing to get her where she is today.

To celebrate her getting to ride her for the first time in over a year, Janet wanted to do some pictures of Nova in the Canola fields.

Canola Fields

Janet found the beautiful Canola fields in Statesville and got permission from the owner to allow us to shoot.  The first time I had ever seen a canola field was last summer in Montana and I was so excited I pulled off the side of the road and started snapping pictures.  I always dreamed of doing a shoot in them.  When I found out there were some local ones I got even more excited.

Along with Janet and Nova we did several other sessions while we were there, but Nova’s was special because it was a celebration of how far they have come.

I have never seen a connection with a horse and human like I have between these to.  It is amazing that she knows what she is thinking and even if something is wrong.  It is pretty neat to witness such a strong bond but I know it really shows up in the pictures because Nova is a princess and loves her picture taken!