Horses in Art Magazine - Art for the Horse Lover

Celebrating the Colorful Gypsy

Dancing Gypsy – Photograph by John S. Hockensmith ©
For a thousand years, Gypsies wandered, seldom welcome, often misunderstood, traveling and searching for daily bread. Gypsy Horses and the Travelers’ Way is the title of a new book and a photographic exhibition of the magical world of the Romani Gypsies of England and the bold pinto horses they cherish.

The stunning images by photographer John S. Hockensmith were taken when he joined a prominent Gypsy family in 2004 and 2005 for the annual horse-drawn pilgrimage to Appleby Fair, a gathering both boisterous and spiritual that is rooted in more than 300 years of history. Along the 60-mile, horse-drawn journey through the picturesque villages and misty moors of northern England, Hockensmith captured luminous landscapes, pensive portraits and intimate details of a culture seldom seen by those who are not Gypsies.

The striking Gypsy horses, which are rapidly gaining popularity in North America and elsewhere, are a primary spoke in the wheel of Romani life and thus the heart of the exhibition that opens at the International Museum of the Horse at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, June 17, 2006. Hockensmith’s images reveal the sweat of their toil while pulling the Gypsies’ brightly painted wagons, the kindness of their nature as they gently carry children on their bare backs, and the raw beauty and power of their flowing strides across lush pastures.

“I’ve never been drawn into a subject quite like this,” said Hockensmith, whose equine photography has gained world renown. “The experience was beyond the bounds of my imagination. It’s no exaggeration to say that it was life changing as I lived with the Gypsies and their horses, experiencing both their strengths and the challenges of their lives as seen through the prism of their view that happiness lies in the here and now. The awesome strength and yet kind gentleness of these horses, which are typically marked in bold black and white patterns are adorned with luxurious manes and feather, is unforgettable.”

“It’s so very appropriate to debut this exhibition at the International Museum of the Horse,” he continued. “The Romani Gypsies and their horses are history that’s alive and breathing and still unfolding before our eyes in a way that few people have been able to truly see.”

The exhibition will feature more than 100 photographs selected from the more than 275 published in Gypsy Horses and the Travelers’ Way, the 184-page book recounting the story of Hockensmith’s travels with the Gypsies which will be released to bookstores in early June 2006.

For more information on the Gypsy Horses and the Travelers’ Way exhibition or the accompanying book, visit www.finearteditions.net.

Sunset Pennines – Photograph by John S. Hockensmith ©

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