Shooting horses at sunset

Hello all,
This is my first post here. I just bought a Canon SX10 IS(not exactly and SLR, but still lots of room for adjustments/creativity​) about a month ago and am loving it. As a matter of fact, I am thinking it is going to lead me to most likely either buying a 50D or Nikon D90 in the next several months if either goes on sale as the holidays get closer. Anyway, here is my question. I am big into horses and have a female friend (who I may be trying to impress a little) who would like me to take some pictures of her and her horse. We both love sunsets and pictures of sunsets. So I need suggestions on getting some professional 'ish looking pictures of her and her horse in front of a sunset. What camera settings (iso, aperature, shutter speed, etc) should I use for good clear pictures? Any creative ideas for cool effects etc. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Help me with my first pics for more than just screwing around and kind of capturing a moment!

Thanks in advance!,
Todd in Maryland

Can you use a flash on the sx10? Often when you shoot a sunset the sky is much brighter then objects on the ground. So to not blow out the colours of the sunset you have to under expose subjects on the ground. So if you expose for the sky and use a flash to match the your subjects you should get good results.

You're other options are to use a a neutral density grad filter or photoshop...

yes, you can use a flash on the SX10.. I just got a 430EX for it.