A Morning Photographing Bar J Performance Horses in Daytona Beach Florida

There are certain horse farms I drive past over and over again and think, "I'd really love to photograph there someday."

Bar J Performance Horses in Daytona Beach, Florida has been one of those places for me. I pass their farm regularly on my way to the airport, so when I finally had the opportunity to spend a morning photographing their horses, I was pretty excited to pull into that driveway with my camera instead of just driving by.

Bar J Performance Horses is a horse breeding and training program run by Jesse Mayhew and his wife, Dr. Callie Mayhew. Their program focuses on producing and developing high quality, versatile performance horses, and they are also home to stallion Haydays Frenchman.

But on this particular morning, I was there for the mamas and babies.

The Broodmares Behind the Bar J Performance Horses Program

Behind every great performance horse is a great mama, and Bar J Performance Horses puts a lot of thought into the mares at the foundation of its breeding program.

Their broodmare herd is an important part of what they're producing for the future, and their offspring are already showing the athleticism and trainability the program is working toward.

As an equine photographer, I love getting the opportunity to photograph broodmares. The stallions tend to get a lot of attention in breeding advertisements and social media, but a great breeding program knows exactly how important the mare side of that pedigree is.

This morning gave me the opportunity to photograph both the mares and their new 2026 foal crop, creating images that show the next generation of the Bar J program.

And let's be honest. Give me a pasture full of mares and foals in pretty morning light and I'm going to be happy.

Meeting the 2026 Bar J Foals

There is something particularly fun about foal photography because there isn't much point in arriving with an elaborate plan.

Instead, I get to spend time watching them interact with their mothers, play with each other, stretch those very long legs, and show little glimpses of the horses they're eventually going to become.

Photographing the 2026 Bar J Performance Horses foals was exactly that kind of morning. We kept things natural and allowed the mares and babies to move through their pasture while I photographed the moments as they happened.

Those early photographs become such an important record for a breeding program. The foals change incredibly quickly, and these images document where they started while also giving the farm professional photography to use for its website, social media, marketing, and future promotion.

Home of Haydays Frenchman

Bar J Performance Horses is also home to Haydays Frenchman, a 2015 bay stallion by PC Frenchmans Hayday and out of Dashing Buck Boon.

Haydays Frenchman is a finished heel horse who has proven himself both on the ranch and in the arena. Just as importantly for a breeding program, his offspring demonstrate the athletic ability and trainability Bar J is looking to produce.

That's one of the things I enjoy about photography for horse breeding programs. You're not simply photographing a pretty horse. You're helping a breeder visually document the decisions they're making and the consistency they're developing from one generation to the next.

The stallion is one piece of that story and the mares are another.

And then you get to walk into a pasture full of babies and see how those pieces are starting to come together. It’s pretty special!

Horse Breeding and Foal Photography in Daytona Beach Florida

It was such a pleasure to finally spend a morning at a farm I've driven past so many times and get to know the horses behind the Bar J Performance Horses name.

And I didn't have to get on an airplane afterward, which was a nice change.

Working with horse breeders, trainers, stallion owners, and equestrian businesses is an area of photography I really enjoy because there are so many different stories to tell. Conformation photographs, stallion advertising, mare and foal photography, action images, black background portraits, professional video, and everyday lifestyle content can all work together to show potential clients what makes a breeding or training program different.

If you operate a horse breeding farm, training program, stallion program, ranch, or equestrian business in Daytona Beach, Ocala, St. Augustine, or throughout Northeast and Central Florida, I'd love to help you create a professional library of images and video that shows the horses and people behind your business.

When you spend this much time and energy developing great horses, you should have great photographs of them too.

Cara Taylor Swift
Fast Horse Photography
Equine photography, foal photography and equestrian business branding throughout Northeast and Central Florida