FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
SIDELINES JUNE 2014 73
at the Games Village. “Being the only American invited to show
my work is a tremendous honor,” said Kimry. “The outpouring of
support from the community tohelp cover expenses to showcase
mywork inNormandy has been unbelievable.”
When she’s not painting, which takes up about 75 percent
of her time, Kimry is riding and training dressage horses. Her
contemporary style flows from abstract to representational, using
playful perspectives and surprising colors to express her passion
for horses. Kimry’s art is influenced by the places she has lived
and traveled.Shehasworkedon ranches in theRockyMountains
of Montana and New Mexico; walked with primates on a safari
in Africa; and ridden horses in the classical dressage schools of
Portugal andSpain. “My art is anopportunity to sharewithothers
what nature shareswithme,” she said.
Given the avalanche of applications to exhibit at the Games,
Kimry thought it would be a longshot to be selected. “Now I’m
paintingmy socks off andworking out shipping details. It’s pretty
darn fantastic!” she said.
Ona recent day, she tooka rarebreak frompaintingand riding
todiscuss her art and her upcoming adventure inNormandy.
What drew you tohorses as art subjects?
I can’t remember a time I wasn’t obsessed with horses. My
mom said the minute I could crawl, if there was a pony ride
nearby, you’dfindme there. Infirst grade Iwasconstantlydrawing
secret gardens with every animal I knew about all getting along
famously, with horses and unicorns in the center. As a child, our
family always had clay, colored pencils and paint around. We
Sky Jump– an image used for theOregonHighDesert Classics
poster
Apples
entertained ourselves for hours creating stuff. We didn’t grow up
with TV. My grandmother was a painter, and my whole family is
quite talented— bothonmymom’s anddad’s side.
Are there particular disciplines or breeds that you prefer to
paint?
I likeall breeds. Awell put-together horse is inspiringnomatter
if he’sdraft or Arab. But I guess I’dhave toadmit, I do like topaint
the Iberian breeds, especially the Lusitanos and Andalusians.
They are so dramatic and expressive. Most often I get asked
to paint dressage horses and jumpers. I think any horse that is
riddenwell andgoes throughhisback looksbeautiful inanysport.
What do you think the overall experience will be like in
Normandy?
This is only the seventh World Equestrian Games, and it has
become the largest equestrian event in the world. It seems that
Normandy is taking thisveryseriouslyandhaving funwith themes
at the same time. You can go on their website (normandy2014.
com) and see some stories written by Jean-Louis Gouraud,
“Around theWorld with 80 Horses,” and the Opening Ceremony
ties in with that, showing that all horse paths lead to Normandy.
I like the inclusiveness and hope it brings many people to the
Games!
Which competitionsdo youplan towatch inNormandy?
Mostly, I’ll be withmy art, but my favorite place to hang out is
thewarm-up rings. One of my favoritemoments inKentuckywas
watching when they opened the rings prior to a new event. One
morning, the eventerswere getting their horses used to the show
jumping arena. I think every competitor was in the ring – it was a
