Tucker French must like to dress up or he’s just a natural ham in front of a camera. Whatever motivates riding director Shelby French’s 3-year-old beagle-chow-greyhound-et. al. mix, he sat patiently through enough photos to fill an 18-month calendar that the riding center is selling as a fundraiser.

Every photo or group of photos features Tucker in all manner of costume or setting — wearing academic regalia, sitting down to a full Thanksgiving table or perched on horseback.

Tucker exhibits his patriotic side in the July photo.

“Yes, amazingly, Tucker was a willing participant,” said French in understated fashion for someone who has photographed her dog wearing, variously, a tiara, sunglasses, and a huge cut-out valentine on his head like a giant Elizabethan collar.

The calendar project evolved last year from the riding center’s Halloween hayride for area children, French said.

“We dressed all the riding center dogs for the preschool trick-or-treat hay ride and Tucker’s photo as Super Tucker generated the calendar idea,” she said. “After the Halloween shot, I did a Christmas picture and then when we had the snow I took a few shots. Then it became sort of a game to think of photo ops that would work for each month and or mean something about life at Sweet Briar.”

There are photos of Tucker basking in the sun on a Sweet Briar towel in August and dressed in pink and green — and pearls — posing on residence hall steps with luggage in September. He sports a toboggan on his furry black and tan head in the January snow and Easter bunny ears in April. Tucker does not always appear amused in his getups, but bears a dignified if inscrutable countenance that leaves you guessing what might be going through his canine brain.

If French knows his thoughts, she hasn’t said, but there’s one thing she is certain of. “The best thing about it is that if I am having a long day I just take out the calendar and it always puts a smile on my face,” she said.

Tucker has been French’s dog since he was discovered alone in a hay barn at the riding center as a skinny puppy about 12 weeks old.

The calendars are printed on heavy card stock and cost $16 to produce, so the riding center is asking $25 a piece for them. About 45 have been sold so far. A former student also created a Tucker Facebook page to promote the calendar. Tucker had 139 fans at last count.

The money raised through calendar sales will go into a special project account to help with ring footing and ring maintenance, French said.

Those interested in buying one can contact the riding center at (434) 381-6116, e-mail Alison Crehore at acrehore@sbc.edu, or send a check payable to Sweet Briar Riding and one will be mailed or delivered to the address indicated. The calendar runs August 2009 through January 2011.