Equestrian Vaulting Photography -

Something a little different from the usual horse sports, Equestrian Vaulting Photography! A display from the HDP team for their open day.

Vaulting is described by the FEI (Fédération Équestre Internationale) as “a harmonious bond between horse and athlete that creates awe-inspiring acrobatic displays of skill and precision.” Simply, gymnastics on horseback.

Horse riding is difficult in general and then adding the skill of gymnastics on top is even more so! Lucky for me I am just a photographer so enjoy this selection of shots from the Haras des Perchers Vaulting display!

I will post a more comprehensive post on the basics of Equestrian photography, find my other posts on the topic here!

Equipment Used:

Body: Canon 6Dmarkii, Canon 6D
Glass: Canon 70-200mm f/4.0, Canon L 24-105mm f/4.0

Settings

If you have a basic understanding of the Exposure Triangle, you will know that outdoor photography is very much weather-dependent.

I was lucky to have a bright sunny day with blue skies, meaning I could use an Automated ISO setting with a limited range of 100-800, a constant aperture of f/4.0, and a variable shutter. To get crisp action shots I prefer to have a higher shutter speed – the minimum being 1/1250.

ISO 100-800
f/5.6
1/1250-1/2000