Retreat Outline
Monday May 11: Meet and Greet, Arrive Mission San Antonio at 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday May 12: Shooting, Communing with the horses, and a ranch tour
Wednesday May 13: Shooting, Editing mid day at the Mission (optional)
Thursday May 14: Shooting, Editing, Healing with Horses sessions (optional)
Friday May 15: (check out), Shooting 9:00-11 a.m., Workshop Close between noon and 1 p.m.
Schedule Subject to Change based on weather, ranch activities, and participant preferences
Aspects of your workshop experience include:
Included: Dorm-style Lodging, Meals, "Making Pegasus" Hat
Not Included: Transportation, tips
Closest Commercial Airports are: San Luis Obispo (SBP), Monterey (MRY), San Jose (SJC)
The exciting thing about "Making Pegasus" is the unique horse experience. Nowhere else in the world can you be with the selection of breeds and breed crosses all in one place! If you're fascinated by the land where art and science meet, you'll be in your element at the Davis Ranch. Every single horse is loved and revered for their personality, beauty, and traits. Greg Davis' unique equine genetics research (collaborating with institutions such as U.C. Davis) seeks answers to which genes produce which characteristics, mapping the DNA, and observing the results of new genetic crosses. You will get to photograph these equine wonders, and learn all about the Pegasus Project.
Being with these horses leaves an impression! You will be given the opportunity to:
"I wanted to say thank you so very much for a fantastic workshop and experience. I appreciated everything you organized. You are an exceptional guide and great company. You were great about imparting your knowledge and helped me be camera-ready. You were considerate of our needs as photographers and we never felt rushed. You are very passionate about what you do and it is obvious that the whole ranch loves you and believes in you. Thank you for sharing that relationship with us newbies and trusting us to follow your lead.
Also, as I mentioned, the opportunity to photograph all of the beautiful horses was incredible - but, (unexpected for me) the freedom to interact and be among such spiritual moving animals really was a highlight. It was not just a photo workshop -it was a spiritual journey.I learned so much from you, Sandy, and the whole ranch. Everyone taught me to accept the horses and to see them as a reflection into my own emotions. That in itself, was the big takeaway for me. They are such mindful and intuitive creatures - I had no idea. To touch them and interact with them made me feel so dynamic. I have not stopped talking about the whole experience."
~ Eleanor Chudy, workshop participant
After adding 23 foals in 2023, 37 in 2024, and 36 in 2025, the project is expecting up to 45 foals in 2026, with the bulk likely to arrive in March and April, and a few still in May. About a dozen mares and stallions were sold each year in 2024 and 2025. Horses we have photographed and loved, such as Jupiter, Magnum Opus, Laced in Legend, Argentum, Luca, and Rafael, are now in new homes.
There are several experiences with the horses at this retreat. One is the herd of mares and older foals. If you've only photographed wild horses, or a small group of horses, this is a completely different experience. These horses are curious and bold. They will come right up to you and smell your camera or nibble on your hat or collar. If not paying attention, you could find yourself surrounded by 10-20 horses. Consequently, we set a protocol of pairing people up so that at all times when we are with this herd, you take turns with one of you as the safety spotter, and the other person taking photographs. We talk through how to be with them before we go in. We invite you to spend extra time with the herd with your camera down, and drop into your heart. These horses have a profound presence that is extremely rewarding to fully receive without the distraction of operating a camera. This is why I've changed the title from "workshop" to "retreat"!
Another experience will be in the exercise pen, where one or several horses at a time are let in to exercise at liberty. We will be in the corral with them, standing together in a group, so that we can photograph them as they sprint and kick up their heels. There will be groups of stallions as well as groups of mares and young foals.
We will also go into an enclosure with mares and new foals that are just weeks old and photograph them just chillin'.
Lastly, will be the opportunity to photograph horses in the round pen, where the trainer will be working with the horses. We will be observing from bleachers above the round pen walls. You'll have the opportunity to learn about modern (but ancient, or indigenous, really) horsemanship and how the trainer and horse communicate and discover how to work together.
Beyond these opportunities to photograph and be with the horses, I am offering an add on experience of a Horse + Human Healing Session. Read more below*.
Note: There are several large German Shepherds on the property. They will approach you, but do not jump up on people. The newest addition is an Australian Shepherd cross (Aussie-doodle) and she just had her first litter of puppies in fall of 2025.
Enrich your photography experience through deepening your connection with horses - and yourself. Understand how developing this connection changes your entire experience and results. You will lie face down or face up on a massage table in a small enclosure with Lori and one horse. Lori will facilitate an energy therapy session. The horse will choose how it wants to participate. You should feel comfortable closing your eyes and relaxing with the possibility that the horse will touch you anywhere on your body with its nose. Lori will make sure you are safe at all times.
As an alternative, if you are not 100% comfortable lying down and closing your eyes, you may sit in a chair and receive the session.
Read more about Energy Therapy.
Read more about Healing with Horses.
Lockwood is a remote California Coastal Valley where wild boars and ground squirrels live abundantly and you'll hear the coyotes at night! There is an Army base (Fort Hunter Ligget) in the vicinity, which adds an occasional plane (or explosives/firearms sounds in the distance) to an otherwise very quiet region. Lockwood has one general store, but there are no restaurants. You'll see mostly large ranches, horses, cattle, or crops. The terrain is fairly flat land with surrounding hills. The ranch itself is a large gradually sloping property with fenced sections and a natural spring that feeds two water holes. This region is naturally dry with sage brush and sparse trees being the native landscape. The photos below will give you a sense of what it looks like at the ranch.
We are staying at the Mission San Antonio de Padua, a 20 minute drive from the "Making Pegasus" Ranch in Lockwood. The rooms are very basic, but clean and recently renovated. Each room has two twin beds and a sink and closet. The shower and bathrooms are down the hall and are shared. You have the ability to lock the shower room or bathroom door for privacy while you're using it if you wish. As long as the dorms are not full, you will have your own room unless you request to share a room with a friend or family member. There are 3 suites. Two that have a queen bed in one room, two twin beds in another room and a private bathroom in between. One suite sleeps 2 and has a private bathroom. If you're interested in a suite, let us know and we'll see if it's available. There would be an additional charge for the suite.
Our day time editing time will be in the dining room at the mission. The mission is a very peaceful, beautiful retreat place, so we are fortunate to be able to offer not only an educational photography workshop, but also a retreat aspect to the experience. There is no wi-fi available at the mission. They have good cell reception on site (though some carriers have trouble getting through the thick adobe walls). We found in the past that certain features in Adobe (i.e. AI, generative fill) do not work without internet connection. We were able to utilize AT&T Hotspot for the connection when needed.
Breakfast and dinner will be available in the shared Kitchen and Dining Room at the mission. Meals will be simple and we will all share in the preparations and clean up. We will make our own sandwiches each day to take to the ranch unless we plan to return for lunch. There is a coffee maker and an electric kettle for heating water to make tea, or hot chocolate.
If you prefer to bring all of your own food, you may. Just talk to us about that option and a discount.
You will leave with hundreds of images that you can play with, post, share, print and hang in your living room, or anything else you can imagine. You will have learned with and from other photographers and will have new friends. As with any educational opportunity, you get out of it what you put in, and what you seek. If you are the spiritual seeker type, you'll walk away with an expanded heart and deeper connection to your own personal journey. If you're a technical geeky type, you'll leave with the satisfaction of having explored some new experiments with your camera and/or editing software, and if you share your knowledge, you'll have helped a fellow photographer in their journey! And so on.
"Greg (Davis) was really welcoming to all of us - made it so easy to be on his ranch and photograph the horses. Even though there were fences to deal with, I really liked photographing the horses in the exercise pen! I look forward to coming back next year!" ~ Lynn Bowers
"It is an almost spiritual experience. The horses are incredibly beautiful and surprisingly gentle! Being out in the field with the herd was absolutely amazing! The feeling was with me for several days afterwards!" ~ Alane Whitmore
"For me, the highlight was the interaction with the horses - both the mares in the pasture and being with the mares and foal in the pens. That was truly magical! The photography and class sessions were wonderful and I really enjoyed the camaraderie with the other photographers and generous staff at the ranch. I did not expect just how loving those horses were to all of us - it was a wonderful surprise!" ~ Cheryl Strahl
"Great photo opportunities, flexibility, camaraderie and sharing, good food, challenges, learning experiences, and Those Horses - wow! Staying at the Mission is an experience in itself. We had time to explore the Mission on our own - if we desired." ~ Workshop Participant
Scroll down and click on the Register NOW button. This will take you to a registration form. Once the form is received, you'll be sent a confirmation and an invoice via email. If you have ANY questions, contact Lori.
Lori has been photographing horses full time for years, beginning with observing them in the herd and learning herd behavior. She has photographed hunter/jumper, eventing, and dressage professionally as well as polo and is very familiar with how to capture the power of the horse in motion. She produces equine portraits in both natural settings and with black backgrounds and is proficient in background replacement and photo compositing. She uses Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
Lori encourages each photographer to develop their own style and to create images that reflect how/what they see and the feeling they want to convey. We each get an idea of what we're wanting to create, and the work we undertake to create that image is very personal and rewarding. Lori will support you in that process.
Through the years, Lori's Spiritual and Energy Therapy Practices have gradually shown up in everything she does, including the photography workshops. She brings an attitude of complete acceptance of all beliefs and encourages an attitude of listening to and observing both the inner experience and the personal relationships between all of us. She will point out how the horses relate, communicate, and express themselves, and encourage you to read the subtle (or not so subtle) signs. She has over 10 years of experience as a practitioner of energy therapies and foot reflexology.
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