It's really hard to beat morning light right around sunrise. It's amazing that the color and intensity of light can change so much throughout the day. Not more than an hour later at this spot it was so sunny and harsh that it would have been impossible to get a softly lit image.
I love how the reflection of the warm light off of the rocks adds a splash of orange to an otherwise limited color display. The reflected light almost steals the show from the horse, who sneaks into this composition at the convergence of the leading lines of the stream banks.