GoHorseShow would like to welcome Keagan Phillips to our team as Media Manager. In her new role, Keagan will oversee the photography and videography, along with the social media coverage at the biggest shows in our industry.
Keagan began riding horses as a young girl and they have remained an important part of her life ever since. “The saying couldn’t be more true…‘Once a horse girl, always a horse girl!’” Keagan gushes.
Keagan began her horse career in English and jumping events before moving into Western. She used her talents in reining to become the first nationally competing reining athlete recruited by the Southern Methodist University Equestrian team. “I loved English, but reining really made me fall in love with the sport all over again – there is so much diversity in equestrian events, and it’s been incredible getting the chance to participate in and appreciate a variety of disciplines.”
Keagan went on to become an NCEA All-American Collegiate Reiner during her career at SMU, but despite all of her successes, she says her favorite horse memories are the simple ones at home in Florida when she and her sister would play with their horses and ride them through the sprinklers to escape the summer heat. “I swear, the horses loved it just as much as we did,” she laughs.
Along with competing for SMU as an NCEA athlete, Keagan also helps cover team events as their Official SMU Equestrian Photographer and handles most of the team’s photo and video needs throughout the show seasons.
According to SMU Equestrian Associate Head Coach Brad Kearns, “What I love most about Keagan is her laugh. She makes life fun. No matter how hard the horse is to photograph, she gets it done with a smile on her face. She is a lot like Mary Poppins, ‘practically perfect in every way,’ and she pulls all kinds of things out of her bag to get the horse’s ears up.”
Keagan has used her love of horses and photography to segue into a career, and now owns and operates Keagan Phillips Photography specializing in equine photography based out of North Texas. In this capacity, she’s found her favorite photos tend to be those that exhibit true emotion. “Nothing makes a better photo than a moment that fully captures the love, hard work, and bond between a horse and its rider.”
As Keagan takes on the role of Media Manager for GoHorseShow, she hopes to bring that passion and love of horses and photography to the media side of the industry. “I can’t wait to get to all the shows, continue to meet people in the industry, and obviously take some awesome photos,” Keagan shares about her new job. “I’m so honored to get to represent a media outlet like GoHorseShow!”
Look for Keagan making her official GoHorseShow debut at the AQHYA World Show. She will be in Oklahoma City covering the Youth World through her talented lens, capturing everything that encompasses showing at this pinnacle event. If you see her, be sure to say “Cheese!”
Keagan can be reached via email at [email protected] or through her website at keaganphillips.com.
