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Monday, October 26 2015 / Published in Weekly Feature

Yvonne Todd — Animal Portraits, Naturally

American Pharoah, 14” x 11”, Scratchboard, New Editions Gallery

American Pharoah, 14” x 11”, Scratchboard, New Editions Gallery

By Lauren R. Giannini

As a child, Yvonne Todd loved gifts and her favorites provided the means to express her passion for art: a box of 64 crayons with built-in pencil sharpener from her mother and package of typing paper from her father. She found creative bliss among all the colors she used to fill the sheets with her drawings. She devoured horse books, savoring everything illustrated by Paul Brown. When her family lived in northern New Jersey, Yvonne’s 8th grade art teacher organized little field trips to museums in New York.

“Loretta Pierson took three or four of us into the city on her own time,” said Yvonne. “We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where I saw Rosa Bonheur’s ‘The Horse Fair’ for the first time — I sat on the floor and didn’t move for an hour. I’m still fascinated by that painting. I’ve drawn pieces of it, but never tried to do the whole painting. It’s overwhelming. It’s huge and so complicated. I’ll never forget that I made the decision to be an artist while sitting on the floor looking at ‘The Horse Fair.’ That painting changed the whole trajectory of my life.”

Escaping the Heat, 16” x 20”, Oil on board, Private Collection

Escaping the Heat, 16” x 20”, Oil on board, Private Collection

Bluegrass Education
During her New Jersey years, Yvonne spent time at Seaton Hackney Farm that produced seven world champion hackney ponies. “Bert Beck ran a riding stable there with 28 school horses,” Yvonne said. “He made me even more horse-crazy, giving me extra attention during lessons and when I helped around the barn. He was a wonderful teacher, an old-fashioned horseman, and the horse always came first.

“In 1965, I went down to Kentucky to go to Transylvania in Lexington, but I wasn’t really happy about it until I drove into town and saw horse farm after horse farm,” she continued. “That’s when I got back all my youthful exuberance. The entire area was my idea of horse heaven on earth.”

Yvonne earned her bachelor’s degree in fine arts, but realized from the start that she didn’t fit into Transylvania’s art program. “I was more interested in painting realistically and everyone else was into modern and throwing paint onto the canvas,” she recalled. “I got As in my courses, but I was on my own, especially when I refused to stop painting horses.”

Wise Dan, 11’ x 14’, Oil on Canvas

Wise Dan, 11’ x 14’, Oil on Canvas

About 10 years after graduating and settling in the Lexington area, Yvonne ran into her teacher/faculty advisor. “I told him I’m married, I have a couple kids, and I’m still painting horses,” she said. “I’ll never forget what he said to me: ‘Of all the students I had at Transylvania, you were the only one who knew exactly where they wanted to go and I was too stupid to know it.’ He was a wonderful guy. He did incredible welded sculptures. After that, he called me several times to tell me about an art show he thought would suit my work.”

Yvonne continued, “He always told me, ‘Even though you’re painting realistically, don’t just rely on photos. You have to paint from the heart and put some emotion into it.’ He passed away a while back, but painting with emotion is something I continually think about in terms of my art.”

Mousing Fox, 6’ x 8”, Oil on board, Private Collection

Mousing Fox, 6’ x 8”, Oil on board, Private Collection

Golden Age of Art
Yvonne lives with her tolerant husband, Donald Todd, a cat, two dogs and eight horses on their farm in Lexington. They have two sons and a daughter, and four grandchildren. Yvonne started riding when she was 10 and, although she hasn’t ridden in about a year, has never fallen out of love with horses. She still has that connection with equines and it shows in her work.

“I paint primarily in oils and the largest canvas I’ve ever done is 30 by 40 inches. More recently, I did a 30 by 24 inch painting of Triple Crown champion American Pharoah,” said Yvonne. “Each year, I do the Kentucky Derby winner for a corporation in downtown Lexington and we’re negotiating about doing the Triple Crown winner in color. Every year, I go to the Blessing of the Hounds at Iroquois Hunt and Woodford Hounds. I’m surrounded by inspiration, and the Kentucky Horse Park is a regular destination for me every couple of weeks.”

Yvonne was commissioned by the Alltech FEI 2010 World Equestrian Games to do pen-and-ink drawings of the three-day cross-country fences and the marathon obstacles for combined driving. For 38 years, she has provided sketches of the cross-country fences for the official program of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Yvonne’s work currently hangs in Damselfly Gallery in Midway. In September and October, she participated in the Breeders’ Cup exhibition with six scratchboards at New Editions Gallery in Lexington.

Check, 16” x 20”, Oil on board

Check, 16” x 20”, Oil on board

One thing Yvonne noticed is that people tend to have room for smaller paintings rather than bigger canvases. “I’ve been doing smaller pieces because they sell,” she said. “You can rearrange things on your walls more easily for a piece that’s 8 by 10 or 11 by 14. I also paint 6 by 8s and put them on little easels. I’ve sold a lot of foxes in that format. I’ve been working with a new medium, scratchboards, used in the late 1800s for medical illustrations, because you can get very detailed with them. I’ve been experimenting with colored inks, which maintain their true values, on my scratchboards of horses, foxes, squirrels, wolves, backstretch racing scenes, etc. Scratchboards are very different from working in oil and graphite. It’s been a bit of an adventure.”

California Chrome, 14” x 11”, Graphite, Private Collection

California Chrome, 14” x 11”, Graphite, Private Collection

Yvonne has established herself as a sensitive painter of animals. Her work reflects 19th century “animalier” artists who specialized in realistic portrayals of animals. However, Yvonne, like Rosa Bonheur, goes farther, injecting her paintings with artistic legerdemain and magic, allowing a glimpse into the creature’s very nature and essence. Sometimes, the focal point is the eyes, but more often an attitude — joie de vivre, wisdom, humor, scolding — expressed in the physical corporeality of horse, dog, fox or bird. Her landscapes, even those seemingly devoid of animals, invite exploration.

“I’d like my art to help people embrace the magic and beauty of the world around them,” said Yvonne, “be it an incredible tree, the curve of a horse’s back, or the spectacle of horses standing in the field, flicking their tails, communing with each other and nature. I feel very lucky to be able to get up every morning and go into my studio and do what I love, creating images that reflect what I love best about the world.”

For more information visit, www.yvonnetodd.com.

Artist Yvonne Todd enjoys a moment with some hounds.

Artist Yvonne Todd enjoys a moment with some hounds.

Photos courtesy of Yvonne Todd

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Tagged under: equestrian art, equestrian-artist, horse-art, yvonne todd

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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
📸Photo by Sheryl Sutherby

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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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