Midwest Horse Fair – Our First Year as Official Photographers
Close to Home, but a Big Milestone
This year’s Midwest Horse Fair in Madison, WI, was only about an hour and a half from home, but it felt like one of our biggest events yet. 2025 marked our first year as the official photographers for the event, and stepping into that role was both an honor and a whirlwind.
We got into town Thursday, checked into our hotel, and made our way straight to the Alliant Energy Center to prep gear, badges, and gameplans and to be there for rodeo rehearsal that night. It was a late one.
Friday kicked off bright and early with clinics starting at 8 a.m. and the schedule didn’t slow down from there.
It was all hands on deck: Cody, Jadrian, and our friend David worked as a unit all day long. David wasn’t just grabbing candids, he was also live uploading photos as we worked. We ran cards back to him every few hours so he could cull, edit, and get content online. Huge shoutout to David, we couldn’t have pulled it off the way we did without him.
We photographed everything from Dan James horsemanship, to Amber Marshall’s clinic (yes, Heartland fans — that Amber Marshall), to Standardbreds, Friesians, Pony demos and more. Every breed. Every discipline. Every color of horse and crowd.
By 6:45 p.m., we swapped out lenses and jumped into rodeo mode. The Barnes PRCA Rodeo took over the arena and it wasn’t just any rodeo, it was completely sold out. The crowd was wild, the energy was high, and the action didn’t stop.
It was also David’s first rodeo, which made it extra fun to watch him experience that rush for the first time and this was definitely not a small show to start with.
After the dust settled, we still weren’t done, slack ran late into the night, and we didn’t leave the grounds until about 1 a.m
Saturday followed a similar rhythm, full clinic coverage, live uploads, and lots of walking. But being close to home meant we also ran into a lot of familiar faces, which always adds something special to the day.
David kept at it with his camera and laptop, covering areas we couldn’t get to and keeping the uploads flowing. The team rhythm really came together, and it felt good to be in sync at such a big event.
That night wrapped up the final night of rodeo, and as always, it was great to see all our friends on the Great Lakes Circuit. These shows are starting to feel like reunions more than anything else.
Sunday still had a full schedule of clinics and demos, but the pace slowed just enough to take a breath and take in the weekend. More candids, more spectator moments, and one final lap around the fairgrounds.
We wrapped the weekend having each logged over 15,000 steps a day, with memory cards packed full and feet that needed a serious break.
We’re incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to step in as official photographers for such a massive and well-run event. The combination of horses, community, and organized chaos is exactly the kind of atmosphere we love working in.
Madison, we’ll be seeing you again
