Lucy Sewill
The celebrity photographer explains the story behind her love affair with horses, living with Cushing’s disease and the highlights of her career
“Turns out I was one of the unfortunate two in a million people to be diagnosed with Cushing’s” Lucy Sewill’s photography books Horses and Humans and Dogs and Their Humans are published by Peridot Press.
How did you get into horses?
I asked for riding lessons from about the age of five, and just kept on asking. I was riding by six, entered WH Smiths’ ‘Win a Pony’ competition faithfully each summer and wrote ‘Pony’ in big letters at the top of every Christmas list. I had a horse when I was 13, but as a result of unfortunate circumstances. I’d been in hospital for months with a life-threatening combination of meningitis, encephalitis and a heart infection. Consequently, I had a significant stroke. I was in intensive care and remember being promised a horse as soon as I was better. Less than a year later I was up and about and had a whizzy 15hh Welsh x Arab with a big jump and lots of stamina.
Tell us about your horses…
I have three at home — a much-loved pony who everyone has outgrown, an Irish cob the whole family rides and my mare, Chica. Chica is an American Quarter Horse who was trained and is ridden using natural horsemanship techniques. We have a great relationship. She’s very special. When I was 24, I had Nutcracker — my horse of a lifetime. She was an incredibly forward and sensitive Anglo Arab who could trot effortlessly at the speed most horses canter. We become an endurance partnership and competed up to 100 miles a day in FEI international rides. I truly believe that she went on to help save my life. We lost her just a few years ago after she developed acute laminitis as a consequence of equine Cushing’s disease (PPID). I was devastated to lose her.
My own health had been rocky for years and I gradually began to put two and two together. It turned out that
I was one of the unfortunate two in a million people to be diagnosed with Cushing’s. The symptoms and treatments are different in humans; I’ve had multiple surgeries and life is very challenging at times. But I’m absolutely still here and I owe a lot of that to Nutcracker.
When did your photography career begin?
On the day my daughter was born 14 years ago, I decided that it was time to do what I’d always wanted to. I’d completed all my ambitions in endurance and needed the next challenge — photography. The first gallery I ever submitted pictures to was the National Portrait Gallery. They accepted them and put them in the Permanent Collection. Before long I was photographing well-known faces, including rock stars, royalty, actors and politicians.
What have been the highlights of your career so far?
Persuading horse whisperer Monty Roberts to take a horse into his Californian home for a shoot; photographing urban cowboys in Dublin; reuniting Bob Geldof and Midge Ure at a shoot after 30 years apart; and a shoot with musician Ed Sheeran just before his massive success. Photographing extraordinary people in their own homes is a huge honour — they make me tea and I meet their dogs.
Do you have any pets?
Yes! I live in an old Dorset farmhouse with my animal-crazy family and we have quite a collection between us. As well as the three horses, we have two dogs, a cat, kune kune pigs, two elderly sheep, two goats, hens, a snake and a bearded dragon. They’re all part of the family.
Do any of your family ride?
Two of my three children still ride and my husband, Roger, and I have been riding together for almost 30 years.
What is your most memorable riding moment?
During an endurance competition on Dartmoor, I was cantering on good going when suddenly the earth disappeared beneath me. We’d dropped several feet into an unseen bomb crater. One spontaneous big bounce and we were out on the top again. What a horse!