Aisling Ranch

12/14/2023

We can’t let the National Day of the Horse gallop away without sharing some of Aisling Ranch favorites ♥️ every day we are so blessed to work with and learn from these creatures. To everyone who has been blessed by a horse, we hope they continue to bring joy to your life!

Photos by Samantha Dawn - Equine Photography

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving from this barnful of turkeys to yours!!! We are so grateful to everyone who has been making this a wonderful year. May your hearts be more full than your bellies ♥️

08/26/2023

We said goodbye to a good one today.

Zeus had 26 full years with Megan, and helped her teach so many to ride. He preferred raising kids and new riders over the show ring, and was happy to spend most of his time doing just that. His gentle demeanor was loved by all, and he took the best care of you whether you were on the ground or on his back. As such an integral part of the farm for so many years, there is a huge hole left in our hearts from his loss. We know he’s across the rainbow bridge happily galloping around with some of his best friends gone before him, and we will continue to seek peace in knowing that his spirit is free.

Our sweet Golden Boy, Aisling Ranch’s lucky penny, we loved you so much. RIP Zeus 💔🌈

08/01/2023

Each person who comes to Aisling Ranch brings the hills and valleys of their lives with them, and we are grateful to be included in their stories. Growth is not linear, and even though we can’t undo our pasts we can learn to cope. Part of growing is learning coping tools to add to your toolbox (as Megan has said a time or two!)

What’s a helpful tool that you’ve added to your toolbox? We hope you had a great start to your week!!

07/04/2023

“O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!”
- Katharine Lee Bates

Some more favorites from a momentous shoot on September 11, 2021 at Fort Hood. May God bless you and your family this Independence Day, especially the families who have sacrificed so much for our continued freedom!

07/04/2023

If anyone was going to beat me to posting this photo, I’m glad it was Samantha!! Happy Independence Day from Muse and the rest of the crew here at Aisling Ranch ❤️🤍💙

"𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠." - 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐫.
Happy 247th Birthday beautiful, America. 🇺🇸
I hope everyone here in the states has a wonderful day celebrating our independence!

The fabulous Gypsy stallion "Muse" with the draped American flag over his back...on the beautiful military base Fort Hood in Texas in 2021. 🇺🇸

note: this photo was actually taken on September 11th, 2021. It was a very special day that day.

Muse is owned and loved by Megan Kenney of Aisling Ranch 💜

www.samanthadawnequinephoto.com
© All photographs are copyrighted to Samantha Dawn.
Any type of use without permission is not authorized!

06/13/2023

TX ➡️ CO ➡️ back again! It has been a busy few weeks for the Aisling Ranch crew!! Another successful clinic in Colorado building on the principles of Working Equitation is in the books, followed by our final Working Equitation show before the summer break ♥️ We are so proud of all the people and ponies we have seen grow during these experiences, and are excited for the journeys to continue!!!

05/30/2023

“It is paws-ible that these humans are barking up the wrong tree. They have been do***ng it under these working conditions. I can only hound them so much to meet my requirements.” -Freya, Aisling Ranch Clinic Supervisor

05/19/2023

Our very own Generosa in the hands of Manolo Mendez, taken by fellow clinician Sherri LovesNature ♥️ We are having a great time in clinic with him and can’t wait to share more!

05/13/2023

✨14 MORE SLEEPS✨until we are among the forest and friends of Saul's Creek Stables!!! We have so many fun ideas for our clinics and lessons and are so excited to see everyone!!

05/10/2023

A very happy birthday to our head trainer, Megan!!! A fearless leader and loyal friend, she is loved by ponies and equines alike. We are so grateful for her heart and soul within this business and wish her many more years- on horseback and in the arena 🥰🎂

Megan is always at her best behind the lens of Samantha Dawn - Equine Photography ♥️

05/03/2023

“You belong among the wildflowers, you belong on a ship out at sea” - Tom Petty

We may not have a ship (or live near the sea) but we do have a whole field of bluebonnets this time of year 💙 Samantha Dawn - Equine Photography has been trying to time a visit for YEARS now to capture some of our ponies among them, and the magic finally came to fruition.

Pictured are PRE mare “Generosa”, gypsy stallion “Muse”, and PRE stallion “Radiante” ✨

03/30/2023

Love when clients share their talents with us in such heartfelt ways ♥️ if you’re in the market for a custom hat, GypsyMoon Designs by Carla will surely take care of you

03/26/2023

After some careful consideration, we have decided to re-format our Equestrian Retreat in Colorado this summer! We are excited to offer something bolder with more options to benefit you and your equine partner! ♥️ Got questions? Comment below or contact Char or Jessica for assistance!

03/21/2023

Our team is back from Portugal (they didn’t bring home any horses… but maybe next time? 😉) !!! Megan and Amelia had a wonderful time working with Gilberto Felipe, touring prominent breeding farms, and visiting the Portuguese Riding School. We have a strong belief that you should always be pursuing further knowledge, and what a joy it will be to further all of Megan’s students because of her own pursuits ❤️

03/15/2023

A beautiful shot of our Dante by Samantha Dawn - Equine Photography 🥰

"𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐒𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡." - 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐬
So much love for this quote. Developing your strengths and weaknesses are not mutually exclusive. They very much go hand in hand. You cannot expect to become strong ONLY by building on what strengths you HAVE. You MUST explore your weaknesses and accept them and grow from them. As time goes by a weakness can reveal in other ways. Finding your weaknesses can potentially lead you to find others along the way as well...believe it or not doing so allows you to become self-aware. Ideally you want to actually see your weaknesses in action then immediately start to act on them to turn them into a strength.
There's many times in my photography that I will push boundaries just to see where my weaknesses lie in my own work, and editing, and just to see how far I've come with the new things I've been working on lately. Only then to apply those weaknesses into my every-day work to GET BETTER.
I'll be honest, life is not a team player, it likes to constantly expose us to our weaknesses NOT our strengths. March is not one of my favorite months for various reasons but March always reminds me that life is NOT fair, life is not a team player, and life gets nasty sometimes. It pushes us off the path, makes us unhappy, and makes things difficult sometimes. Think about it....in the history of the military (even the military around the world) what are they going to attack first? Your weakest point aka your weaknesses. Weaknesses are our anxious thoughts, the sleepless nights.... Find your weaknesses, be fully aware of them, conquer them and turn them into your strengths. Every weakness is an opportunity to grow and grow stronger.

Stunning Black PRE Andalusian stallion "Radiante" bowing so elegantly 🖤
Owned and loved by Megan Kenney of Aisling Ranch 🖤

www.samanthadawnequinephoto.com
© All photographs are copyrighted to Samantha Dawn.
Any type of use without permission is not authorized!

03/14/2023

Things have been a little quiet around here as we have been preparing for some BIG things!! Megan, our head trainer, and Amelia, our working student, are in Portugal at the moment to train with Working Equitation Master Gilberto Felipe! We knew this would be a great opportunity to improve on the wealth of knowledge to share here at Aisling Ranch, and it’s proving to be more fulfilling than we could have hoped 🥰

02/27/2023

It was so amazing to have Slice of Heaven Farms host us for a private lesson Clinic this weekend!! We were able to meet so many lovely equestrians and their horses, and introduce everyone to exercises to better their riding and partnership. It’s always so cool to meet a team where they’re at and help them find ways to further their relaxation and development! Thanks to everyone who came to learn- we are already planning the next one!! 🥰