Ad Critique II

If I insist on being snarky [Ad Critique], then it behooves me to point out when an equine ad is done well.

Page 55 Vanity Fair, June 2015
Page 55
Vanity Fair, June 2015

Nice looking horse. Clean, well-fitted tack. No gaping flaws in horse management. Simon Baker is actor, so I assume the photo was staged specifically for this advertisement. It is not a case of, as so well-stated by ridexc, “an art director (who) has five minutes to select something that sorta says elegant and swanky.” [ibid].

Good on you, Longines.

Vanity Fair cov

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch: Nada

Monday’s head cold [Delay] kicked my ass. My brilliant medical advisor came home with Sudafed for pressure and pain. Sweet relief. I could move.

On the other hand, I over-react to drugs in amusing ways. Percocet has made me paranoid. Pain-killers have made me hysterical. A half-dose of Sudafed left me without the will to do … to do … anything. I bailed on my riding lesson. I scheduled the show posts then staggered back to bed. I spent most of last week sitting in dark rooms, playing video games, and listening to Terry Pratchett audio books. This would have been a delightful vacation in the garden of sloth, except for that still, small voice:

What are you DOING? You have WORK. The house is a dump. The DISHES are taking over the sink. How about the horses? You remember horses? Okay, Rodney is on the slow plan. However, you have a NICE horse who is ready NOW. Get your sorry self out to the barn. Do SOMETHING. Do I have to remind you that life is SHORT? Do you realize how much of a HASH you are making out of the opportunities so generously piled in front of you?

I would never talk to another person the way I talk to myself.

Driving Around in Circles

Stepping Stone Farm's Academy Driving Show Team MSSP 2015 Sandra Hall Photography
Stepping Stone Farm’s Academy Driving Show Team
MSSP 2015
Sandra Hall Photography

I prefer interesting editorial shots to pretty presentation pictures. I wish the official photographers took more of them. When given the opportunity to show off, I tend to get fired up. I’ve had several moments of equine exuberance in victory passes that would have made great images.

A more standard shot, wherein I kept my act together for the v.p:

Alvin Ailey MSSP 2015 Sandra Hall Photography
Alvin Ailey
MSSP 2015
Sandra Hall Photography

(A web image is an authorized, low-rez version from the photographer of a purchased photo. Not one that I took off the website.)

Update: [Show Report]

Tweet Storage as of May 30, 2015

Saving tweets for posterity, or at least for my own amusement.
19 tweets.
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#HorseHour tweets

End #HorseHour and my commentary thereon.
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Show Report & Tweets: Winter Tournament 2015 #3, B&W Stables, February 18, 2015
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Show Tweets: ASAC 2015, March 19, 2015
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Show Tweets: Pro Am 2015, April 9, 2015
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Retweeting for a contest. I won!
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Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Cross-Country Day, April 25, 2015

My retweet of Ms. Potter’s post

A clever response to the same tweet.
https://twitter.com/LisedeLuavull/status/592013421845032963
My retweet of Lise L’s post
End Rolex
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Lunch at the picnic table at Stepping Stone Farm + carrots in lunch + free-range donkeys = Carrots? Did you say carrots?
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Show Tweets: Dixie Cup 2015, May 6, 2015
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Show Tweets: MSSP 2015
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Show Tweets: MSSP 2015

Mid-South Spring Premiere
May 21-23, 2015
Northeast Alabama Agribusiness Center
Rainsville, AL

Favorited by artist. Fangirl squee.

Success! Turns out I had residual irritation from a stomach bug two weeks ago. Pepto in tablet form is portable and good for show nerves. Ineffective in this situation. Now I know.

This was post-Academy. Final array below:

Photo by Courtney Huguley
Photo by Courtney Huguley