Mace Maclean Photography

Mace Maclean Photography Amateur photographer based in Nottingham

After a weekend off it was back to business as usual with a trip to Bramham and a typically tough xc track. Good to catc...
15/06/2026

After a weekend off it was back to business as usual with a trip to Bramham and a typically tough xc track. Good to catch up with a few ppl for the first time in a few weeks.

Great to see Bubby Upton get back to winning ways with ITS COOLEY TIME in the 4*L, and to see Alice Casburn and TOPSPIN win the British U25 Championship. 🙌

But gutted for David Doel and connections...

I was originally supposed to be fence-judging at Epworth on the Sunday, but was asked to be a dressage steward instead (for the second time this year). So it was two days in a row of getting up at stupid o'clock... On the plus side it was a reasonably early finish on Sunday. 😀

What I always forget about going to Bicton: The journey down to Devon at stupid o'clock in the morning is pretty easy. I...
02/06/2026

What I always forget about going to Bicton: The journey down to Devon at stupid o'clock in the morning is pretty easy. It's the driving back on the Sunday evening when you're knackered, in amongst the end of half-term traffic, that's a bit more of a challenge... There is, of course though, Gloucester services farmshop about half way, which helps.

After seeing the accident early in the 2* section on Saturday I was feeling a little out of sorts, particularly given my previous experiences at the venue. If nothing else, this seemed to involve me accidentally changing settings on the camera and then not noticing for a while... 😬

I never like to leave early, but tbh I really wasn't enjoying myself and was struggling to find good photography spots (compared to usual at Bicton). The last horse to go xc on Saturday was originally scheduled for 5:35pm. After *yet* another hold on course at about 6:30pm with still a lot of combinations to go, I adjourned to the pub and the biggest cheese board I've ever seen! A big thank you to the volunteers who had a much later than expected finish. 👏

Thankfully, Sunday went more to plan, both competition, mood and photography-wise.

A hot weekend at Osberton. The plan was to be there with the camera on Friday and Saturday and then volunteer on the fin...
25/05/2026

A hot weekend at Osberton. The plan was to be there with the camera on Friday and Saturday and then volunteer on the final day. However, due to a slight admin error, I was surplus to requirements, so instead I was able to pootle around with the camera for an extra day. 😀

Ironically, after attending the xc briefing on Sunday morning just in case someone didn't turn up, one of the fence judges had to leave early in the day due to illness, but the organisers were unable to get hold of me to cover... 😬

One downside - the extra day of yomping around with the camera gear means that I now *definitely* need to get a physio session in this week to treat my ongoing calf injury issue before Bicton! 😂

Some wide-angle shots from Belsay.
21/05/2026

Some wide-angle shots from Belsay.

Going to a gig in Derby on Wednesday night, before a (predictably) long day of fence-judging at Aston le Walls on Thursd...
18/05/2026

Going to a gig in Derby on Wednesday night, before a (predictably) long day of fence-judging at Aston le Walls on Thursday didn't leave much time to prep for a trip up to Belsay on Friday morning... But somehow, everything that needed to be packed was indeed packed. Result.

As ever, it was nice to add to my collection of photos of top horses and riders in front of castles, halls, etc. As much as I miss Chatsworth (definitely much closer to me!), it is a worthy replacement.

The main event of the weekend - the Dachshund Derby on Saturday evening for the BE Support Trust - was a particular highlight. As you might expect, it was mayhem. 😂

Some pics from Badminton xc day, as usual trying to get around as much of the course as possible in amongst 100,000 othe...
12/05/2026

Some pics from Badminton xc day, as usual trying to get around as much of the course as possible in amongst 100,000 other people. 😂

From their first BE90 (running HC) at a slightly soggy Oasby in March 2017 to jumping the Vicarage Vee in 2026 on their ...
10/05/2026

From their first BE90 (running HC) at a slightly soggy Oasby in March 2017 to jumping the Vicarage Vee in 2026 on their way to a third Badminton win. 🐐

The first horse to win Badminton three times. 🙌 What a privilege to have been there this weekend (if only for xc day).
10/05/2026

The first horse to win Badminton three times. 🙌 What a privilege to have been there this weekend (if only for xc day).

I went to Cirencester Park prepared for 'changeable' weather. But, even with the shorts getting their first outing of th...
04/05/2026

I went to Cirencester Park prepared for 'changeable' weather. But, even with the shorts getting their first outing of the year, I hadn't anticipated just how humid it would be on Friday morning. Jonna did me a huge favour by upselling me a bottle of water with my americano and cake! 👍

And, while we're talking about favours, early on Saturday morning I realised that I was getting a blister on a toe. And I'd forgotten to put my first aid kit in the camera bag... I was therefore somewhat overjoyed to see John and Mel (xc fence-judges extraordinaire) at the next fence, who were able to provide me with a plaster and a seat on which to apply it. I think it's the first time I've ever taken a photo on a xc course while sat in a chair (it was Fox-Pitt if anyone's wondering who the rider was 😂).

Although much of the forecast rain for Saturday didn't arrive, there was enough of a downpour in the last hour or so to give my new Reincoat Lite a field test. There was a very kind offer from a fence judge to let me perch under their land rover boot door, but the waterproofs did their job out in the open.

I'll be picking dandelion seeds out of the car and camera bags for the next few weeks...

It was 4°C when I left Nottingham early on Saturday morning. This led to me being somewhat overdressed for the afternoon...
27/04/2026

It was 4°C when I left Nottingham early on Saturday morning. This led to me being somewhat overdressed for the afternoon heat at Kelsall Hill... 😬🥵

After getting really dehydrated, I then almost went too far the other way for fence-judging at Oasby on Sunday. I'm really glad that I didn't do the shorts and t-shirt combo for that one because, true to form, there was a bit of a chilly breeze in the morning.

Here's hoping for a (little) bit of rain to soften up the ground over the next couple of weeks.

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