When we moved lock stock and barrel down to Borris, Carlow from Dublin, It was everything I imagined and more…I remember we weren’t even a week in situ when I decided to take the bull by the horns so to speak and cycle down to the local Mother and Toddler group in the village….My then 2 year old daughter Abbie was fairly content to be safely strapped into her seat on the back of Mammy’s mountain bike watching the fields fly by (Ohhh yeah, I don’t hang around!).

So instead of the usual traffic lights and jams the only obstacles to get in our way was our lovely neighbour Michael on foot herding his sheep and “yos” up our hill. Well, what a pleasure for me to have to pull over for this “traffic”……I think I got more of a thrill to see the herds of cattle and flocks of sheep passing our window everyday than my kids….In no time they were immersed in the country life..It was almost old school for them. Maybe it’s the pure Dub in me not used to seeing all the live stock and tractors going by. So when I heard the local farmers talking about these “Yos” I’m thinking to myself is there a New York influence around here, are they closet rappers?….I thought the Carlow people greeted you with a “Well?!”…..It took me a while (I won’t say how to long;)) to realise they were talking about the “Ewes” as in female sheep for any other City slickers out there.

But what really topped my excitement was when I got to see The Carlow’s Farmers’ Hunt trot down our road in all its glory. The magical sound of clip clopping from the horses’ hooves resonated from a miles away. I thought us cyclists were the true toughies, but respect to the hunters, jumping over high dry stone walls, through streams and rivers, up hills and over ditches. You fall, you get up, dust yourself down and back on the horse (or bike)…..whatever floats your boat…..

So I was delighted when I was commissioned to do a painting to be presented to the retiring Huntsman from the Carlow Farmer’s Hunt. Obviously, I nearly always need quality images to work from and when I was given a fabulous photo to work with I was delighted. The original image was photographed by David Ryan not only a talented wedding photographer but a man who has a great eye for the sports photography too. His website is davidryanphotography.ie or @davidryanphoto to you tweeters out there, well worth having a browse methinks.

I used acrylics for this painting and although some people find painting or drawing horses challenging I find it an enjoyable task. The horse is such an imposing animal. Its size and power can be quite intimidating to anyone on foot beside such an animal. But, beauty outweighs the beast. When I think of horses, I think of their speed and grace…in comparison the hounds seem giddy beside their master, waiting for their call. This photo made the perfect composition to paint the piece which was done on a canvas measuring approximately 75cm x 50cm in size.  I hope you enjoyed my latest blog post from a country bumpkin in the making! Rachel

So, if you have ever thought of getting that lovely image of yourself or that special someone transformed into an unique painting….please feel free to contact me…my email address is rachohara@gmail.com. I have also some paintings on my newly opened Etsy shop also called DrawntoSport and my facebook page is called,.. yes, you’ve guessed right Drawn to Sport. Finally my phone number is +353 (0) 87 6397210.