H&R Husband of the Year

After reading Juli Thorson’s blog on her husband helping out with H&R’s latest photo shoot in Idaho, I had to share these photos of my husband (then fiance), Tread Strickland, and his sacrifices for my job, especially during photo shoots. (And, let’s just say he’s not a huge fan of horses or other livestock for that matter…)

Tread pushing a wheelbarrow, in earnest, on a 100-degree Texas Sunday afternoon.

?Wonder if he’d rather be watching football in the air conditioner? Not sure how many wheelbarrows he’s pushed in the past. He’s kind of a city boy. Not to say he didn’t do excellently!

Here, I made Tread demonstrate a Your Horse Your Life “Solutions” blurb about dispensing shampoo from a liquid soap dispenser. He was a fab hand model, and Memphis was thrilled to get his tail quaffed…although I don’t think Tread’s ever spent that much time up-close and personal with a horse’s?derriere. ?

Dog duty: We needed dogs for the shots, but only?intermittently, so Tread got to hold the pooches for us. Great patience. [The brown lab mix is our old-geezer Jaxs, although he’s still kickin’ it. The black mix (of some sort) is Jesse, a barn friend’s dog.]

This shoot was marvelously hysterical. I needed some shots of “frightened” horses. It takes a lot to get some of my barn’s senior citizens excited, much less scared. However, pre-hail storm, Tread diligently marched into the field wildly swinging a saddle pad. “Stormy,” the dark bay mare, appears irritated with the entire situation. But, a huge “E” for effort on Tread’s part.?

This was during the same shoot. After the lazy senior horses were completely oblivious to the saddle pads, plastic bags, rain coats, dynamite, firecrackers, Tread took the umbrella route…unsuccessfully. On another shoot, it started to sprinkle, and dear Tread used this very same umbrella over me and the camera for protection. Champ…no doubt.

?

And, not only does he do photo shoots, Tread does shows (more reluctantly than shoots, I admit). I think he’s ready to hit the road here for a cold one. I’m still beaming from my reserve champ win for a jump off. At one point, my barn friend was dating a guy who was good friends with Tread. I loved it. Less complaining. Less getting yelled at by me, panicking before a class. And, I always told them to bring a cooler of beer, sit in the back of the truck with a game on the radio = pleasant experience for everyone. Then we can go for Mexican food and margaritas post-show.

I definitely think Tread deserves some type of H&R Husband-of-the-Year Award. I’ll think on it. Maybe I’ll take him on a l-o-n-g trail ride or a weekend cattle drive. Or, perhaps, I’ll just take him to Hooters for beer and wings…on me!?

Erin’s getting hitched in a little over a month, and her fiance has already had to model and do some hard labor for photo shoots. Being married to an H&R editor definitely requires understanding, patience, and a “horses-sometimes-come-first” mentality. Let us know if any of you a have horse-worthy hubby like mine!

~A?

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