Featured Art Gallery

Born in Kerry, Southwest Ireland, O’Connor studied fine art at Crawford College of Art & Design and also gained his higher diploma in art education. Today, O’Connor works at his Cork-based White Tree Studio, creating ever more sought-after pieces of art.

With a disciplined approach in his study of horse anatomy, O’Connor puts a great emphasis on technical execution. As with much of his work, the void of background and simplicity of the pieces serve to highlight the natural physical perfection of these animals. The result of O’Connor’s innate aptitude for draughtsmanship and his lifelong passion for horses is a body of beautifully evocative paintings that capture the unique power, grace, and nobility of the equine form.
O’Connor's love of horses stems from his childhood. Some of his earliest memories are those of his grand-uncle, Mossie, working in his dark smoke-filled forge, shoeing local horses and ponies. Influenced by the Renaissance Masters, O’Connor takes his style of drawing from the Silverpoint pieces of Da Vinci and the drawings of Michelangelo. His work now forms part of many private and corporate collections worldwide. Additionally, O’Connor has hosted several Master Class Workshops and has embarked on an exciting new venture as Resident Artist at the Equine Art Retreat in Oklahoma, America.

Thrilled to have lifted two awards through the prestigious Ex Arte Equinus International Art Competition, O’Connor was also awarded the Best Creative Equestrian 2013 in the Equestrian Social Media Awards (ESMAs) and Best Creative Equestrian 2014 - this time, winning both the Judges’ Choice and the People’s Choice.

For more than 40 years, Joni Monroe Beinborn of Joni’s Ponies has captivated viewers with her ability to produce pastel paintings that come alive in depth, light and character to produce exact likenesses of her subjects.

"I believe that when a drawing is created well in detail, it can elicit emotion that is far different than a photograph," said Beinborn, who resides in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. "I strive to bring what is beautiful of the horse; strength, softness and a sense of wildness. I often look to my own horses to feel and sense the true essence of the horse to incorporate into my work."

Self-taught and highly collected, Beinborn has enjoyed many well-deserved accolades for her work. She served as the official artist for the 2010 American Paint Horse Association Summer and Fall World Championship Shows. In 2014, the American Quarter Horse Association presented her with the Steel Dust Award for overall quality and depth in her body of work in the America’s Horse in Art Show and Sale. In 2017, she was also named the Signature Artist by AQHA. She is the only person ever to receive both the Steel Dust and Signature Artist titles. In addition to being showcased in the May/June 2017 issue of Cowboys & Indians Magazine, Beinborn’s work has been featured on the cover of AQHA’s America’s Horse and in the Equine Chronicle, Western Wisconsin Horse Show Association Handbook, Minnesota Paint Horse Directory and in the 2010 American Paint Horse Association summer and fall World Show publications. Most recently, the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida, has chosen Joni’s portrait of A Sudden Impulse to promote their 2021 futurities named for the stallion.

Beinborn specializes in custom portraits of your horse, dog, or any other favorite beast in pastel, oil, colored pencil or graphite. To learn more about Joni Monroe Beinborn, visit jonisponies.com or follow her on Facebook @jonisponies.

We are delighted to announce Elise Genest’s vibrantly dynamic “Teal and Gold Xerex,” has been selected as the official image of Equine Affaire’s 2021 events.

Born into a family of artists, Elise Genest works her inimitable magic to create awe-inspiring paintings that bring the very essence of her subjects to life from her studio in Quebec, Canada. Utilizing a variety of techniques, Ms. Genest’s paintings feature one or several horses that are highlighted by a contemporary play between shadows and light and exude her subjects’ souls.

Traveling extensively to become inspired by different places and settings, photography plays an important role in how Ms. Genest creates her paintings. Some of her photographs are masterpieces in and of themselves, not needing to be revisited with brushstrokes while others become references for her future paintings. Ms. Genest’s creative process includes a long period for reflection and research, followed by intense and spontaneous painting sessions. Once she starts to become what she calls “creatively possessed,” her paintings come to life in less than 24 hours.

Ms. Genest was first recognized for her incredible talent when she presented her paintings to potential collectors and began offering her services to create portraits for horse owners locally and abroad. Ms. Genest was presented the 2014 Calgary Stampede Best New Artist award and today exhibits her work at major equestrian events throughout North America and Europe.

An active social media enthusiast, Ms. Genest regularly showcases her most recent paintings, masterpieces in progress, and her thoughts on her art and subjects. She fosters close connections with her ever-growing fan base, which includes both horse and art lovers. Explore www.elise-genest.com for more information and additional samples of her phenomenal work.

Equine Affaire is pleased to announce the selection of Gretchen Almy’s “Caribbean Horse” as the official image for the 2020 Equine Affaire events. This colorful, dynamic artwork will be featured on our event programs and will be available for purchase at the events.

Ms. Almy has a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (now Randolph College) in Lynchburg, VA, and spent a semester studying art in Florence, Italy. Having spent most of her life working with horses in all disciplines, Ms. Almy has always had a natural connection to the animals she has gotten to know. This special bond aids in her unique ability to capture her canine or equine subjects’ soulful personality in a variety of styles.

Ms. Almy is also a gifted photographer, and contributed extensively to the book “Unbridled Passion”, for which she captured many of the up close and personal shots of famous show jumping riders and their mounts. Out of her studio in Plymouth, MA, Ms. Almy produces an extensive gift line utilizing her artwork, ranging from greeting cards to custom photos to fine art handbags. Beyond taking custom requests, Ms. Almy has recently been exploring her own unique style of equestrian art that meshes abstract expressionism, bright colors and lively brush strokes to capture the equine form in a way like no other. She is also exploring her love of nature through her new series of landscapes. Her work has been shown locally in Southeastern Massachusetts, as well as in Boston, and collected worldwide. Other works by the artist can be seen at www.galmydesigns.com.

Paul Van Ginkel's dramatic image, "Dust & Deliverance," was selected as the official image for the 2019 Equine Affaire events. Mr. Van Ginkel was educated at the Alberta College of Art in Calgary and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University in New York. In 1990, after working for six years as an illustrator, he began specialixing as a fine art painter of western themes. He is a member of the Oil Painters of America and was awarded the commission to paint the 2007 Calgary Stampede poster.

Paul Van Ginkel is internationally-recognized for his depictions of the native peoples of North America and the western lifestyle, as well as one of its most iconic symbols, the horse. He has received many awards and distinctions for his work, including four Calgary Stampede Best of Show awards. He was also selected by Fresco Fine Art Publishes in Albuquerque as on of the top western artists working today. Visit www.PaulVanGinkel.com for more information and samples of his other paintings.

Equine Affaire is proud to once again feature on the cover of the event program and on the official 2018 limited edition print a soft pastel drawing by the phenomenally talented artist and friend of Equine Affaire, Sheila Rieman. Ms. Rieman demonstrated her initial talent for art at an early age - a talent that took her far in her chosen career. She studied art at North Dakota State University, and it was there that she discovered her affinity for the pastel medium. Sheila Rieman's pastels are distinguished by her unique use of vibrant color. The subjects of her art come from her rural lifestyle in North Dakota and from her experiences in owning and riding horses for nearly 30 years. Though her chosen medium was pastel, she worked equally well in acrylics, oils, and pen and ink. She also sculpted. Sheila Rieman's art has been shown in and received awards in many national and juried exhibitions throughout the United States. She has also been an invited artist in numerous national exhibitions, and her work hangs in many private and corporate collections across the country.

Prior to her passing in a tragic accident in 2011, Sheila Rieman not only painted prolifically but also taught workshops for other artists and loved helping others - whether it was by donating art for auctions for worthy causes or painting houses or dog sitting. She had an enormous heart and a zest for life that was contagious. Those of us at Equine Affaire who were lucky enough to have known her miss her remarkable spirit, her friendship, and, of course, her extraordinary talent.

A limited edition print of "Faithful" will be available for purchase at the Information Booth at each of our 2018 events.

The official image selected for 2017 was a watercolor titled “Chestnut” by Susan J. Snyder of Saint Marys, IA. Susan Snyder is a multi-talented individual who wears many hats...as an equestrian, a wife and mother of three, a physician, and an artist. She began riding at the age of 10, showed hunters through her junior years, and continues to indulge her passion for horses today through the discipline of dressage. Dr. Snyder received a Bachelor of Science from The Ohio State University and then attended medical school at Ohio University.
After meeting her husband and getting married, she moved to Wyoming where she completed her residency in family practice and then practiced medicine and raised three children over the next 20 years.

In 2008 the Snyders moved to central Iowa where Dr. Snyder continued with her medical practice and also pursued a new avocation “just for the fun of it:” painting. She and her oldest daughter decided to explore the world of art through acrylics, pastels, and watercolors. After months of frustration trying to overcome the challenges of watercolors, Susan fell in love with the medium. Unlike most professional artists, she is completely self-taught having developed her skills only through books, a few videos, and many hours of practice at the kitchen table. She appreciates the watercolor medium because of its fluidity and transparency that result in luminescence.

Susan Snyder has been painting professionally since 2013. During the past five years her work has been presented at the annual exhibitions of Watercolor Societies in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Kentucky, Illinois, and western Colorado and at the Iowa State Fair. She has participated in the Western Spirit Art Show & Sales in Cheyenne, WY, and her work was just recently presented at the FEI World Cup Finals in Omaha, NE. More information on Susan J. Snyder and her lovely watercolors can be found at www.sjsnyderart.com.

The image that appears on the cover of the 2016 event programs is an acrylic painting titled "Stampede" by Michelle Grant of Calgary, Alberta. This image, along with several other paintings by Ms. Grant, were selected as the "official images" of the 2016 Equine Affaires and were showcased in the marketing materials for the events and at equineaffaire.com. Ms. Grant has been working as an artist in the realist style since the mid 1990s. She received her formal education in art at the Alberta College of Art where she majored in drawing, and she currently works in many mediums including oils, acrylic, and graphite. Her exquisitely rendered equine images have been commissioned and collected by both private and corporate clients worldwide and been published in many books and magazines.

Michelle Grant's work has been showcased at open and juried exhibitions throughout Canada and at prestigious venues in the United States as well. During the past 20 years she has amassed numerous awards and accolades for her drawings and paintings including the 2012 Artistic Achievement Award for the Calgary Stampede Western Art Show. She has also been commissioned to design various commemorative coins such as the Calgary Stampede's 100th year gold and silver coins for the Royal Canadian Mint.

In addition to her own artistic pursuits, Ms. Grant also teaches art lessons and workshops, and many of the students she enthusiastically mentors and encourages are successful artists in their own right. Her work is on display at the Gainsborough Galleries in Calgary, Alberta, and The Avens Gallery in Canmore, Alberta.

"Vigilance," along with several other outstanding paintings by Carole Andreen-Harris of Tucson, AZ, were selected as the "official images" of the 2015 Equine Affaires.

Ms. Andreen-Harris was raised with horses near her home in Minnesota, and it was her fascination with horses as a child that initially drove her to put pencil to paper. When her family moved to Arizona in 1983, she was finally able to have a horse of her own and she quickly became involved in the local horse community. She experimented with pencil, pastels, and acrylics in creating images of horses and found herself setting up at various equine events receiving commissions to portray show horses.

Ms. Andreen Harris began studying graphic design and illustration at The Art Center of Tucson in 1987 and received an Associate degree in art advertising in 1989. She and her artist husband, Lemorris Harris, created their own design business through which Carole became an experienced digital designer and desktop publisher in addition to being a painter. By 2002 the Harrises decided to end their graphic design business and devote their time to their personal artistic pursuits.

During the past dozen years Carole Andreen-Harris has had the freedom to paint the subjects that she has been moved to paint - and horses have been at center stage. She has built up an impressive body of work that has been showcased in exhibitions and juried shows and at equine-related events across the nation. Ms. Andreen-Harris's paintings have found their way into the art collections of both private collectors and equine organizations and have been showcased in a wide range of prominent horse industry magazines, books, and directories. She has also amassed numerous honors and awards for her exceptional paintings which so effectively capture the beauty of horses of so many breeds and disciplines as well as their personalities and "presence."