CLASSIC VI

Kirsty Chabert rides this absolutely beautiful mare for Carole Somers, and Carole approached me on the stand at Blair to commission an oil.

Betty (Classic's stable name) was up at Blair having a prep before she went off to Aachen for the Nations Cup.

I went down to the stables to photograph her, and I was so taken by how incredibly lovely she was. She has the most amazing eye, so liquid, and although not hugely obliging to photograph (!) I got a couple of peachy shots.

Carole wanted the bridle on her, and in the discussion I didn't think too much about it. When I do bridles, I try and not make them too obvious, too shiny, as I think it can detract from the horse, who after all is the subject of the piece. I feel I did that a couple of times in the distant past, so it's now a conscious decision to tone them down a bit.

And then, drawing it up, I got to the browband, and it's got squillions of tiny diamante studs on it.  It was a fine line to balance, but I'm really happy with the way it worked out.

The exciting part of all this is that the Nations Cup Team won Gold, so she's a gold medallist!

It's an absolute privilege to paint such a gorgeous horse, and her career is going from strength to strength. Wishing her every success for the future.

Oil on linen, 16" x 20". The name is on a plaque on the frame.