I got to the Equestrian Center early to be around Scott, a Flea-Bitten Gray thoroughbred. I walked up to his stall and said to him, “Now Scott. Are you going to behave and lie down with Sarah?” Scott whinnied loudly. Looked me directly in the eye, got onto the ground of his stall, rolled onto his back, and lay there. Great! The second I said that, he jumped up and swiveled his head around with a look that clearly communicated: “I’m not going to do that again.” Sarah said later, “That’s why I call him Snotty Scotty, because he’s got this attitude.” He thought he got the best of me when I left. But when I arrived again early the next morning, he realized that if he didn’t cooperate, I’d be back every day. Though mischievous, he was also pragmatic, understanding that I wasn’t going anywhere until I got the shoot. Not surprisingly, his attitude completely turned around on the second day. He behaved beautifully. I wanted to do this photo because I’ve known so many women who have had incredible connections with horses. I often heard about young girls who would get mad at their parents and escape to the barn to be with their horse, because that’s where they felt understood. This described Sarah to a “T”: “I have a type-A personality, was very opinionated, and talked back to my parents all the time. I drove my mother nuts. I still do.” When she was a teenager, Sarah would fight with her mother’s new boyfriend. After the fight, Caroline would always find Sarah in the stall. When a horse lies down, it’s more vulnerable. They’re inviting another animal to think of them as prey. She used to sneak into their stalls and lie down with them. “Horses would know if I was in stress or discomfort. Afraid, angry, or having a bad day. The horse can be very sensitive.” It was inevitable that Sarah Williams would wind up with horses. And, interestingly, it was her mother, Caroline, that modeled how special the equine/human relationship can be. Caroline runs the Las Campanas Equestrian Center. When Caroline was young, her parents couldn’t afford a horse, so at age eleven she started working at kids’ birthday parties. She’d squirt mustard and ketchup on hot dogs, and in exchange she’d get to ride a horse for an hour. Not a bad deal. Sarah was inside her mother’s belly for her first ride on a horse. Caroline rode the whole time she was pregnant. As an infant, diapered, and with jaundice, Sarah was put on top of a horse. She teethed on the saddle horn and peed in the saddle. Her first horse show was at the age of 18 months at the New Mexico State Fair. She’s been showing at the State Fair ever since. She had a horse named Sportiff when she was ten, and then another named Skippy. She also had a pony as a young child named Tooth Fairy. Sarah, naturally, has asthma and is allergic to horses. Sarah said, “I had a fabulous childhood. I was much closer to my barn girlfriends than my school friends.” Being around horses has shaped her: “When you have to get up at 5 a.m. and go outside no matter the weather and care for an animal, it keeps you out of trouble. Being around horses keeps you on the straight and narrow.” I haven’t been around a lot of horses, but I’d never met one like Scott. Sarah bought him right off the racetrack to ride in Grand Prix events. His show name is Santa Fe Silver and his “barn name” is Scott. He’s in his prime now at nine years old, and it’s normal for this type of horse to live into his early 20s. “Horses don’t ever intentionally do something bad. They want to please you. They want to do their jobs. If a horse does something bad, it’s more than likely that a human has done behaviors toward that horse to turn it sour. Sometimes it’s hard to get that out of a horse. You have to respect their space; you have to respect their wounds.” It is obvious that Sarah has gotten so much out of her connection with Scott, and she also understands how crucial the human connection is for the animal as well, “It’s important for everyone to have a job. A companion animal, a show animal, working cattle – they all like having something to do. They feel neglected if they don’t. Retired horses, if they were working horses, miss the interaction with humans.” Throughout both shoots it was clear that Sarah knew what Scott was thinking. She could tell by his look what he was going to do. And you could tell that he loves her. He’s a very powerful horse with a mind of his own, and I don’t think there are a lot of people he would have allowed to lay between his front legs and hold onto a leg and rest against him like that. He was pretty rowdy when others tried to handle him. Sarah is his person.