Georgina Preston

The photographer explains how hunting helped her to find her place and inspired a passion for capturing beauty on camera that has blossomed into a career

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GROWING up, I was fortunate to own a pony and have patient parents who were prepared to take me to Pony Club without burdening me by being overly competitive. While the other girls demonstrated commitment to becoming eventers, I soon discovered three other disciplines far better for a teenage girl to be focused on: drinking from hip flasks, jumping hedges, and men in fine tailoring. I certainly would never have had the self-discipline or commitment to be good at dressage or showjumping, and fortunately neither did my two-gear exracehorse, Dennis. At the time it was a little damaging; however, on reflection, I am so grateful that we did manage to gather a grand total of 24 faults at the local Pony Club show. It avoided a future of tight white synthetic fibres rather than cavalry twill breeches. Instead, the two of us found something we both utterly fell in love with: hunting.

I’d had a hard time at school after going from a tiny village primary with one other girl to a large comprehensive. My peers were smoking behind the bike sheds while I was still cantering around the garden pretending to be a pony, so fitting in was tricky. In contrast, hunting brings together a unified body of otherwise polar opposites from all walks of life and across all ages – this social group welcomed me with open arms.