Growing up in a horse racing family, it was in Ashlea’s blood to follow in family members’ footsteps. While Ashlea was younger, she spent a lot of time at her aunt’s stables at Ascot in Western Australia, and over the years, this developed her love for racehorses.

Ashlea realized quickly that racehorses were her passion and that she wanted to be with them full time. She ended up not completing high school, but following her grandparents’ wishes, she went on to complete a certificate in Business and Law for something to fall back on. After completing her schooling, Ashlea then began working for trainer Adam Durrant full time while picking up a camera here and there.

After starting photography, Ashlea took a chance and packed up, leaving her Western Australia home and making the journey to Sydney. At first, she spent the majority of her time photographing harness horses and working in the stable. Her photography had her travelling around for the carnivals in New Zealand, Sydney, and Melbourne. After moving home for a short period of time, Ashlea was back on the road to Sydney, knowing that’s where she needed to be in order to make it as a racing photographer.

Ashlea stayed photographing harness horses for another two to three years before transitioning to Thoroughbreds just as COVID-19 was hitting. Since switching to Thoroughbreds, Ashlea has had major success as a photographer, capturing Australia’s premier race days. In the mornings, you can find Ashlea in a variety of locations: the stables, trackside or on the beach photographing the horses in action for her clients. Ashlea also owns shares in a few different horses and manages a number of social media accounts for a number of different trainers in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. 

“I have had Ashlea Brennan Photography (ABP) for 8 years in November and I’m very excited to see where it takes me!” said Ashlea Brennan.