hunter-jumpers in 103 degree heat

October is a welcome month in Arizona. Both equestrian and horse alike begin showing up at Scottsdale's Westworld arenas. The 'cool' Fall is an ideal time to begin practicing for upcoming events. This day, however, wasn't so cool as the mercury reached 103 degF (~40 degC). Still, the riders and horses at the 2009 Scottsdale Fall Preview put on a pretty, good show.

The lighting inside the arena is soft, but along the entire horizon there is a band of strong, incoming sunlight. That equals spot metering! And so the rest is history, quick captures with fast glass can make for some interesting captures.

Photogs have it good at Westworld due to these relatively small size type of events, maybe 200 people at most spread out across Westworld, making shots so much easier. It is easy to roam around, set up and move around the various arenas. More pix at http://www.pbase.com/scorpius/hunterjumpers2.

I'm always amazed at the ease that these jumpers maneuver their horses. Let's face it, the horses are 20x the size of the riders!