Photoshop Education continues

I've been taking an online photoshop class and learning so much, I thought I'd take a minute to show off & share what I've learned.  The class is through www.equinephotographers.org and the instructor is Sherron Sheppard, who is an amazing ARTIST.  Yes, ARTIST.  It's not just photography any more - it's an art form.  Utilizing a well-taken professional image as the canvas, and the tools within Photoshop, I am finding it is extremely easy to unleash my inner artist and create images I think would look wonderful above the fireplace!  Can I draw?  Nope.  Can I paint?  Nope.  I've never been able to create anything other than stick figures.  Ask my mom, she can tell you - even in kindergarten, it was obvious that the drawing side of art was not my forte.  I'm learning though, that through digital manipulation of light, just about anything is possible.
Here is an example of what I've been up to.  Below is an original image, straight out of the camera.

It's not bad - but I hate the white pole in the background and the edge of the arena that you can see at the bottom.  It's distracting. In addition, the lighting doesn't do anything to draw your eye to the focal point, which is the horse's head.

Below is the after image - I cloned out the white pole and arena edge, added a gradient filter, and played with some burning & dodging to create the light effect & draw your eye to the horse's head.

What do you think?  Post comments below!  Don't hesitate to be critical, I can handle it :)  As always, you can view my photography www.mtsphotography.zenfolio.com