Equine Artists Come Together To Support TRF

Many of the world's top equine artists, including Fred Stone, Rod Skidmore, Jon Kral and Skip Dickstein have come together to form an alliance in support of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF). The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Arists' Alliance has created a website - equivisual.org - to offer the sale of photographs and paintings with 40 percent of the proceeds going to benefi t the TRF.

 "We are doing it out of an act love because we believe in the TRF," said photographer Alison Hartwell. "We're all honored to contribute to the TRF, who truly reflect the love and passion we all have for horses."

Hartwell, who works out of the Hudson Valley in New York and Palm Beach, Florida, was the catalyst in bringing together some of the country's top equine photographers and painters in support of the TRF. They include:

            Fred Stone: Called the most successful painter of horses in the world, Stone's paintings grace the White House and the home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. His paintings include those of Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Seabiscuit, John Henry, Affirmed and Afleet Alex.

            Rod Skidmore: Named vice president, artistic director and trustee of the Leonardo da Vinci's Horse project, Skidmore was named official artist of the Winter Equestrian Festival in 2006 and 2007 and HITS on Hudson 2006.

            Jon Kral: A five-time Pulitzer Prize nominee and Pulitzer Prize group winner whose photography has received the Robert F. Kennedy Award,=2 0Kral has focused his lense on thoroughbreds in recent years after an award-winning career at the Miami Herald. His images have graced the award-winning books 'Saving Leslie Jones: Rebirth of Spirit in Man and Horse,' and 'Cracker: Florida's Enduring Cowboys.'

            Skip Dickstein: A staff photograher at the Albany Times Union, Dickstein's photographs of thoroughbred racing have won numerous awards, including the 1996 Eclipse Award for excellence in thoroughbred photography.

Other photographers who have agreed to contribute their work to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Arists' Alliance include Hartwell, Dave Black, David Lominska and Charles Mann. "We're hoping to create a filter to show all the different aspects of the thoroughbred community and we're hoping more arists join our alliance in the coming weeks and months," Hartwell said.