Sigh, I really like the perspective on the shot, which does almost make you feel as if you are looking at you and the horse from underground. The other thing is that yep it is perfectly centred which I kind thought would have been a pre-requisite for a centred challenge but having seen some of the images that 'beat' you obviously wasnt
On the colouring, I'd just say that one person's washed out is another persons gentle pastels and I thought it worked well for the image
Awesome perspective. The angle you cose was really captivating right off the bat. The lightness kind of throws my eyes around though. May want to darken her up a bit (this will help the clouds in the sky) and up the saturation very slightly to pop those browns out. The angle really makes it though.