horse trainer / breeder Sarah Hollis photographer Jeff Anderson dancer / model DeAnna Pellecchia
Sarah Hollis is the owner and head trainer of Tintagel Enterprises Ltd., a holistic equestrian facility that breeds Andalusians and Drum horses, and trains them for both riding and specialty media work. Tintagel horses have been seen and featured in many national media campaigns and publications. These include features in VOGUE shot by Annie Leibovitz, TV Commercials for Morgan Stanley, music videos for Lady Gaga, and promo spots for Animal Planet.
Tintagel horses are acting and modeling pros; they are taught to hold poses, run through scenes and offer expressions on cue. The horses are trained to understand the process of being photographed. They will hold a pose until the flash goes off, and then relax. The Tintagel performance horses are taught to listen and understand human intentions very clearly. They are also taught to use options and think independently. This free thinking allows the horse performers to invent new and unexpected positions, poses or moves which may make the photograph or film more dramatic and unique. Every Tintagel horse acquiresthe training basics, including set safety, modeling tricks and acting tricks and then each is individually allowed to excel at their own specialty tricks.
DeAnna works as a model / dancer to help create powerful image portfolios showcasing the tricks and talents of Sarah's star equine performers -- Uther, Pony and Regaliz. The images are shot by photographer Jeff Anderson who is superbly skilled at photographing horses. Jeff produces inspiring, breathtaking portraits that challenge the standard notion of what a horse portrait looks like. Tintagel exclusively uses Jeff to shoot their Andalusians and has been doing so since 2007. See more images HERE.
sarah hollis | horse trainer / breeder Sarah Hollis is a breeder and trainer of Andalusian and Drum horses and the director of Tintagel Andalucians in Westhampton, MA. Her equine trick training started when her veterinarian told her about her old lame horse “you’d better teach him tricks because he’ll never be good for much else." That was almost twenty years ago and Sarah’s skills have developed and honed over the years and she now has trained dozens of horses in a variety of tricks and acts. Sarah also realized the physical and mental value in tricks because even a lame, stall bound horse can be trained which not only keeps them mentally stimulated but acts as gentle stretching for them physically.
jeff anderson | photographer Jeff Anderson bought his first 35mm camera in 1972 at age 13. There he developed his eye for the natural world as he developed and printed his early works in his bedroom closet. For the past several years Jeff has been a highly successful equine and studio portrait photographer. It is his synthesis of life experiences -action, adventure, culture, dynamic landscapes, and humanism that, when filtered through his portrait-studio trained eye, yields his unique style he likes to call “portraiture in motion."