Equestrian Farm Logo Design

Stirling Hill Farm

My name is Julie Watchorn and I am a professional horse rider. The type of riding that I do is called Dressage, which you can read more about here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dressage

I am looking for a logo to use on my new website. You can see what our current logo looks like here:

http://www.stirlinghillfarm.com/

Here is what I like about my current logo:
-The colors (red/black/white)

Here is what I don’t like about my current logo:
-It’s boring
-Has nothing to do with horses
-There is no visual symbol with it (horse, saddle, anything)

I am currently training and competing for a spot on the Canadian Equestrian Team – so it is important to me that the logo evokes Canadian patriotism as well. Incorporating a Canadian flag or maple leaf would be a nice touch.

Here are some examples of other riders in Canada with logos that I like:
http://www.stoneylakeequestrian.ca/logo.gif
http://www.jensenequestrian.com/ima…delogo.jpg
http://www.ociocaballo.com/actualid…at_001.gif (not Canadian, but I love that it is an interesting new take on your typical horse-related logo design)

Potential students, sponsors, and media interested in me as a competitor/trainer or the farm. The site is going to be redesigned with a more professional, well-laid out navigation in mind. It is important that the brand not be too childish or too stoic.

The logo represents Stirling Hill Farm (my homebase) but is also a visual representation of me as a professional athlete.

The logo will be used for the website, outerwear, banners and in other offline promotional materials. It is important that the colors and elements will stand out in all mediums. We will need the source file (.psd, .ai, or .eps) and would like to see how the logo looks on both a white and black background in the mock-ups.

The design shouldn’t be too trendy or necessarily employ certain “Web 2.0-y” techniques like gradiants. I would like to use this logo for a long time!

For typography, I would prefer something that is clear, easy to read – not too intricate or overly stylized. Cursive seems to be used a lot in these types of logos, but I’m not necessarily sold on this path for my own brand.

Please no generic, predictable horse clip art. I would really like to see something more creative than that!