Emily Stein's charming pictures of Pony Club kids

Emily Stein is one of those photographers who manages to distill joy and affection into a single image, taking a snapshot of time and energy that bursts out of the frame. In her newest series, Pony Club, the feverish intensity of these kids’ love of rosettes, silks and above all, sweet hairy little ponies is palpable, with just the same amount of effervescence and fun as her previous projects looking at teenagers in a moshpit or kids blowing bubblegum.

“For the Pony Club kids, horses are their first true love, their very own soulmate,” Emily tells us. “Their passion consumes them – it echoes in what they read, what they wear, what they watch and how they relate to the rest of the universe.” The images were all shot last weekend at The Royal Windsor Horse Show, which hosts the rather brilliant-sounding Shetland Pony Grand National. You can almost smell the nerves and excitement in Emily’s pictures, and the way colours of silks and shorts match horse boxes or long stretches of grass show a knack for marrying observational detail with truckloads of personality.