Collection, 2024

The term “collection” is one of the fundamental principles of dressage training, seen at elite-level equestrian competitions, where the display of a horse's training, athleticism, and partnership with the rider is showcased.

The series, Collection 2024, is a documentary photo essay exploring the changing nature of the horse and rider relationship in the highly competitive world of elite equestrianism. At the centre of this relationship lies a complex, reciprocal dependence, collaboration, and “mutual becoming”, all based on intimate body-to-body contact and largely non-verbal communication. To the non-rider, it can often appear that the rider is doing very little, with this appearance of stillness being more pronounced in elite-level equestrians. A rider and horse can create a unique intimacy and symbiotic bond.

With the horse industry in Australia worth around AUD$6.3 billion per annum, increasing commercialisation of equestrian sport is eroding aspects of this horse-human relationship, threatening the vital deep bonds between horse and rider. This beautiful synchronicity takes years to develop over countless hours of working together. However, in the current climate, commercial pressures have seen an increased turn-over of horses who are deemed to be under-performing, resulting in an undermining of that close bond.

Collection offers glimpses into moments of intensity, intimacy, and mutual understanding shared between these magnificent animals and their riders, capturing their silent communication.