Styled Shoot: Inspiration from Point-to-Point + Kentucky Derby

All photos by Hudson Nichols Photography

It is three days and counting to the Kentucky Derby (May 5th) and four days and counting to Winterthurs annual Point-to-Point steeplechase races (May 6) , so when I was asked to pitch a story for the Hunt Magazine, my first love came to mind... Horse racing! As the story goes, I spent 8yrs (from 18yrs-27yrs) working at Delaware Park Race Track, and inside grew a strong love and appreciation for horse racing. No, not the gambling (however, I will admit it lined my pockets a few times), but the beauty of the sport! I think I was meant to live in the forties, because I have an appreciation for the sport - the strength and beauty of the horses and what it meant to society during that time. I honestly own both the original and modern Seabiscuit on DVD, and have watched about every horse racing movie out there. Yes, I know... sap. Did I mention that I got to sit on the starting gate one day for a ten race card? Oh I did... and that was the best!

Since we were sharing our awesome tailgating tips with the Hunt (check out that here) for a horse themed tailagate for all of the upcoming races, we decided to a back it up with a styled shoot. Horse racing is all about strong patterns and bright colors with the jockeys silks. We decided on a pallet of mint greens, peaches, and corals, and added in some bold patterns with an ikat pattern on bowls (C.Wonder), salad plates (C.Wonder), and pillows (Christmas Tree Shop). We brought in natural elements through straw bales for seating ($2-$8 a bale), iron horseshoes, farmhouse tables, and added a bit of feminine and softness through lace and romantic florals (think peonies, garden roses, and ranunculus - however the peonies neon hues stole the show!). We decided to mimic the jockeys silks by spray painting gold striped and polka dotted patterns onto mason jars which would display our floral (this by far might have been my favorite element!).

AllieRuth Designs customized a themed invite just for us, and we couldn't have been more in love with its horseshoe shaped wreath, multiple vintage horse stamps, kraft paper, and white calligraphy!