Cover artwork by Michael Tang courtesy of the Capital Challenge Horse Show.
Upper Marlboro, MD – September 19, 2011 – The 2011 Capital Challenge Horse Show will run from October 1-9 at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center. Every year, the show’s program and official poster feature new artwork by Michael Tang.
Creating the original watercolor for the annual Capital Challenge is always a challenge for Father Michael Tang. One might think that creating a photo-realist image of a horse and rider is as simple as copying a photo, but in reality, the photo is only the beginning.
This year’s poster of Scott Stewart and Declaration gave Tang many things to consider. It is natural to assume that a stunning photo of a fabulous hunter could easily be recreated as a painting, but the fact is that in addition to assessing the horse and rider, Tang becomes instantly aware of everything else that goes into creating a spectacular piece of art: lighting, background, and the simple details that render emotion.
When Tang begins his work he studies the photo for what he will need to alter in order to create the painting. First, changes often need to be made to finesse a horse’s jumping style; knees might need to be made tighter or squared up. Next, the rider’s equitation might need to be tweaked or garb replaced. Tang explains, “As someone who is a traditionalist (I still wear my Charles Owen when hacking at the barn), I always replace the helmet with a classically styled hunt cap.”
In addition to the rider’s gear, the horse’s tack might need some work as well; for example, an elastic girth with fleece might need to be changed to one of proper leather.
While the relationship between horses and humans is one of public fascination and private intrigue, it is also something that evades easy description. Although many have tried to put words to the magical connection that can occur between an equine and his human, sometimes words are not enough. And for this reason, we often look to exhibits such as “The Horse” produced in partnership by the The Kentucky Horse Park’s International Museum of the Horse, and the American Museum of Natural History. For those interested in experiencing a visual depiction of horse and human collaboration, this exhibit is not to be missed. Here is the official press release:
Prestigious American Museum of Natural History Sends Its Blockbuster Exhibition to the International Museum of the Horse
LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 29, 2011) – The Kentucky Horse Park’s International Museum of the Horse (IMH), in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History, announced today that it will host the exhibition, The Horse, from October 22, 2011, through April 6, 2012. The IMH is a major lender to the exhibition.
“We are thrilled to be able to bring this world-class exhibition to Kentucky,” said Bill Cooke, director of the Kentucky Horse Park’s International Museum of the Horse. “The American Museum of Natural History is truly one of the world’s great natural history museums, and they did a masterful job in developing an exhibition that not only illuminates the timeless union between humans and horses, but does so in an amazingly entertaining way. We are excited that this will be our first blockbuster-level exhibition while schools are in session. I have no doubt that both teachers and their students will love The Horse.”
Nashville, TN – The Women’s Horse Industry Network has announced that Elizabeth Shatner has been selected as a recipient of a WHINNY award for her efforts in the horse industry.
The WHINNY awards are designed to shine the light on people who are using their high visibility to save and protect horses and to promote the horse industry through charitable efforts. Elizabeth Shatner, wife of actor William Shatner, does just that.
Born with a love of horses, Elizabeth started riding at the age of five. At the tender age of eight, she got her first horse, a Galiceno pony. By 14, she was teaching horseback riding and participating in young judging competitions with the Indiana Arabian Club, winning several national honors and a scholarship. As a part of the scholarship, she was able to attend a USEF judging clinic. It was during her time as a youth judge that she began to see the beauty of art in nature. She attended Purdue University studying equine and animal science and Butler University in Telecommunications. She eventually became a professional horse trainer.
A photo safari trip with her husband in Israel was the spark that ignited her passion for art with photography launching her in another career. She calls her art Flowrosophy, using the nature’s shapes and colors to create pieces that heal the spirit and arouse introspection. Moving back to her love of horses Elizabeth recently unveiled as part of her “Elizabeth Shatner Art by Nature” series the “Unbridled Collection”, a series of digitally painted photographs of horses she has encountered all around the world focusing on Kentucky and the role horses have played in history and their influence on culture. Elizabeth celebrates these “horses in service” by donating portions of the proceeds from the sale of her artwork to equine-related charities.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 29, 2011) – The Kentucky Horse Park’s International Museum of the Horse (IMH), in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History, announced today that it will host the exhibition, The Horse, from October 22, 2011, through April 6, 2012. The IMH is a major lender to the exhibition.
“We are thrilled to be able to bring this world-class exhibition to Kentucky,” said Bill Cooke, director of the Kentucky Horse Park’s International Museum of the Horse. “The American Museum of Natural History is truly one of the world’s great natural history museums, and they did a masterful job in developing an exhibition that not only illuminates the timeless union between humans and horses, but does so in an amazingly entertaining way. We are excited that this will be our first blockbuster-level exhibition while schools are in session. I have no doubt that both teachers and their students will love The Horse.”
From the horse’s earliest ancestors grazing on the plains of what is now Nebraska to a magnificent contemporary Deborah Butterfield horse sculpture, the eternal bond between horses and humans is explored in the largest equestrian traveling exhibition ever assembled. The Horse graphically portrays the horse’s impact on trade, transportation, labor, warfare, culture, and sports. It showcases spectacular fossils, models, dioramas, and cultural objects from around the world, including many from the American Museum of Natural History’s world famous collections.
Washington, DC, June 7, 2011 – The Washington International has extended its deadline for submitting entries in the 2011 Poster Contest to July 31st at midnight. WIHS, the leading indoor equestrian event in the US, is seeking an original poster design for its 53rd annual event, to be held Oct. 25-30, 2011, at Verizon Center in Washington, DC. The six-day equine extravaganza features the country’s leading horses and riders in exciting jumping competition.
The poster contest is open to U.S.-based artists, both amateur and professional, 18 years or older. A maximum of three entries per artist will be accepted. There is no entry fee. Artists submit photos (prints or digital files) of their work (not slides, not original art). The work submitted must be original and may be in any medium suitable for duplicating on posters and souvenir merchandise.
Entries should be inspired by the WIHS and reflect an equestrian or horse theme. Artists also should consider the event’s longstanding ties to Washington, D.C.
“Ancient Bronzes of the Asian Grasslands” Will Be Presented by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation
An ornament from Inner Mongolia, third to fifth century BCE, from the exhibition.
LEXINGTON, KY (June 2, 2011) – Continuing its tradition of offering world-class exhibitions to the public, the Kentucky Horse Park’s International Museum of the Horse – a Smithsonian Affiliate – is making final preparations for its next exhibition, Ancient Bronzes of the Asian Grasslands from the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, June 24 – Oct. 9.
Ancient Bronzes of the Asian Grasslands presents a major sampling of steppe art from the collections of the late Arthur M. Sackler, M.D. Curated by Trudy S. Kawami, Ph.D., Director of Research for the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, the exhibition presents eighty-five works illustrating the personal decorations and equipment of the horse-riding steppe dwellers of the second and first century BCE.
The Eurasian grasslands, also known as the steppes, cover a region extending from northern China westward through Mongolia, to the plains of Eastern Europe. This exhibition focuses on the eastern or Asian steppes whose rolling grassy plains are punctuated by snow-topped mountain ranges like the Tien Shan (Heavenly Mountains), and deserts like the Gobi and the Taklamakan.
SAUGERTIES, NEW YORK (May 20, 2011) — HITS is pleased to announce Werner Rentsch as its cover artist for the 2011 HITS Saugerties Official Show Program.
Rentsch is best known for his portraits of horses from all disciplines, including racing, show jumping, fox hunting, polo, farm and wildlife. His paintings are highly sought after by collectors around the world, and this season his piece entitled “Horse in Red Cooler” will grace the cover of the popular program that serves as a keepsake to all exhibitors that attend the horse show.
The talented artist has been honored with nine one-man shows and his work has appeared in twelve different museum exhibitions and selected in more than forty juried or group shows throughout the country. His paintings and prints are widely sought after by collectors around the world. He is a full member of the American Academy of Equine Art and served as the organization’s president from 1994 through 2008.
He works out of his studios in New York City and at his farm in upstate New York, where he rides his horses and gets much of his inspiration for his paintings.
Washington, DC, April 25, 2011 – Let the horses inspire you! The Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), the leading indoor equestrian event in the US, is seeking an original poster design for its 53rd annual event, to be held Oct. 25-30, 2011, at Verizon Center in Washington, DC. The six-day equine extravaganza features the country’s leading horses and riders in exciting jumping competition.
The poster contest is open to US-based artists, both amateur and professional, 18 years or older. A maximum of three entries per artist will be accepted. There is no entry fee. The work submitted must be original and may be in any medium suitable for duplicating on posters and souvenir merchandise. The deadline for entries is 4:00 p.m., Monday, May 31, 2011.
Entries should be inspired by the WIHS and reflect an equestrian or horse theme. Artists also should consider the event’s longstanding ties to Washington, DC.
The winning design will be selected by a panel of judges and will be used to promote the 2011 horse show. The winning artist will receive significant publicity, 100 posters and a package of all other items produced with the winning design, four weeklong passes to the show and the option to have a vendor booth during the show. The artist retains the original artwork.
My Northeast Florida Dressage Association (NFDA) club’s Dressage on the First Coast Spring 2011 show is coming up this weekend (April 9-10th) and boy has there been a flurry of work to do to get everything ready for it. Everything else has had to be put on hold, even getting my newsletter out before the end of March. My attempt to get it out the week before that was thwarted by a frustrating technical issue of my ESP not ‘talking’ to my ISP which took me 4 days to finally get resolved. Hence my March newsletter has become my Spring newsletter or a March/April newsletter.
My wonderful husband offered to do an advertisement for the show program as the EVP of HorsesintheSouth.com. We were trying to decide what he would say in the program ad as I already have an ad for HorsesintheSouth.com in it, so we decided that we would just thank all of our current clients, banner advertisers and affiliates. My graphic designer, Beth Webb, who also did the show program for us on a last minute notice just told me to write up some text and she would make an ad out of it. Well, 3-4 hours later, I came up with this huge text-heavy ad that feels like I am thanking everyone for an academy award or something, it is so long! I didn’t know where to stop, I am so lucky to have such wonderful clients and advertisers. And, these are just the current ones! So I figured this would also be a good editorial so that all of the HorsesintheSouth.com readers and AHorseBlog.com readers will see these accolades instead of it just being confined to a horse show program.
It reads like this, but the layout that Beth did is gorgeous, as is the show program that she did for the Dressage on the First Coast.
ALGGraphics.com – Flexo and Screen printer of specialty labels.
DogwoodSportHorses.com – Breeders of excellent bloodline European cross warmblood sport horses for sale; featuring the branded Westfalen, and approved RPSI breeding stallion, Freedom Hall.
DressageontheFirstCoast.com – The website for the twice yearly recognized show; started for the 2005 Region 3 Championships held at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center.
Feedin’ Time – Animal feed & supply store. See the store link on HorsesintheSouth.com/feedintime
FloridaMaritimeLawyers.com – Florida-based law firm which concentrates in trial litigation in the field of admiralty, cruise line and maritime law.
James “Shea” Walsh – HorsesintheSouth.com/sheawalsh; 1988 Olympian represented Ireland. Instruction and clinics locally and abroad.
KDEquine.com – Kathy Daly — Classical Dressage trainer, clinician. USEF “r” Dressage judge; my first website started in 1997. I wanted to give back to Kathy for all of the wonderful training she had and has done for me and my horses. We still get many “phone” training lessons and I used to get “Kitchen Table” lessons when she would stay with me when I lived in Jacksonville and she would get to my place too late for a lesson. One day I am going to write a book for her on these lessons, she is that good at explaining what to do!
Sundance Farm – HorsesintheSouth.com/sundancefarm; Featuring Swedish Warmblood, AWS approved stallion, Synchronicity; Lupe Guarderas, owner, competitor, trainer and Dressage judge.
SuncoastBedding.com – Premium ultra-compressed pine shavings animal bedding.
TripleKBarC.com – Preserving the “Last Chance” naturally-gaited, old-time Albert Dement foundation line of Tennessee Walking Horses. Dement mares for sale to selected breeding homes.
Current Banner Advertisers and Others that we Support:
CanterburyShowPlace.com – Central Florida’s nicest equestrian showplace with an indoor covered and lighted arena, and 3 outdoor rings, 5 show barns, clubhouse and more!
ClassicCompany.com – Show management that we support; production of multiple shows throughout the South.
FlashpointMediaServices.com and FlashPointPhotography.com – Robbie and Greg Meisel who we love and support, specialize in performance and event portrait photography, and press releases for Classic Company, LLC show management.
JaneHeart.com – Gorgeous equestrian and dog lines of jewelry including Secretariat™ and Barbaro™ licensed jewelry.
KAMAnimalServices.com – KAM’s Equine Learning Circle offers FREE webinars every month and we list weekly tips each Monday and support them with a banner link.
MahanFarm.com – 113 acre boarding, show and clinic facility in Tallahassee, FL. Summer camp held in conjunction with Feather Oaks Farm. Brett Barteld, Owner
NagHorseRanch.com – Home of the Nose Shade, formerly called Nag Nose Shade to stop sunburned horses’ muzzles.
NFHJA.com/ North Florida Hunter Jumper Association – We support them, especially during the Jacksonville Winter Series.
RavenwoodFarm.net – Ravenwood Farm Foundation non-profit rescue corporation
SouthernFarrier.com – Brett Barteld; 2nd Generation Farrier; 1990 Oklahoma Horseshoeing School -Certificate Graduate Professional Horseshoeing; Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association Certified; American Farrier’s Association Member
SunHorseTack.com – Fancy and custom-made horse halters and stuff!
USET.org/United States Equestrian Team Foundation – We support them with a non-profit banner advertisement.
And, we have too many blog contributors to list here, so please see the Contributor category on AHorseBlog.com as these keep growing every day.
Jerry and Teri also wish to thank Sheila Van Dusen, honorary EVP, for all of the assistance she has provided since our beginnings in 2000, plus Jason Ellerbee, for his assistance as our Associate Editor and analyst, Chris Dunn and Linda Bourdow for their accounting assistance, Rob Bowman for his amazing photography, Charles Bryant for his amazing programming work on our website and blog, and Beth Webb for her amazing graphic design skills and assistance. Without their help, we would not have been able to keep this monster of a website and blog, plus our client sites and advertisers functioning.
For those of you in the north Florida area there are two exciting events coming up in April. They are both large juried art shows – the perfect venue for finding a special gift, or just enjoying a day out in the sun with beautiful artwork, music and food.
Look for me at cjw designs, and remember to mention that you saw an ad on Horses in the South for a 15% discount!
Nashville, TN – The Women’s Horse Industry Network has announced that Elizabeth Shatner has been selected as a recipient of a WHINNY award for her efforts in the horse industry.
