Berni

Berni is a biographical documentation of a retiring show jumping horse. Berni has had his glory, but now those days are over as he lives his retirement in France. Brandão’s images exude in glamour. Berni is, sure enough, as imposing and classy as can be yet in such a sad, nostalgic mood. As the great portraitist that she is, Brandão knows how to depict her characters at their very best, but also in honesty, and with tenderness. Berni was awarded Honorable Mention at the 19th Julia Maragaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers (2022) and was selected at PhotoVogue. // This is a story about the retirement of a Moroccan horse, a show jumping champion named Berni. Berni goes to France just after becoming a show jumping champion at age 5. For 11 years he works and participates in several competitions with his owner. They move from France to Portugal but shortly after their arrival, his owner suffers two serious accidents and her journey as a rider comes to an end. Berni is only 16 years old and is on his best physical shape but she decides it’s best to retire him as well. He’s sent to a field with other retired horses in a freer environment in France. For two years we watched his ad