Page 13 - 28 September 2012

Left—A popular piece in Harding’s collection is “Competitive Spirit.”
Right—Harding’s image of her son, Jeremiah with his horse Poco To Go, a.k.a. “Pokey,” graced the cover of the Quarter Horse Journal and the World Show program in 1986.
Right—Introduced in 2011, this image of Jacky Martin is part of an on-going fine-art jockey card series that Harding began in 2009. Thousands of dollars have already been raised, with proceeds from the sales of the cards going directly to injured riders.
Jeremiah and the Ol Red Dun
Ginny Harding immortalizes both the outward and inward qualities of the people and animals she draws.
by Diane Rice
The object of illustration is to capture the subject’s outward appearance; the magic of art is to capture the subject’s inner charac- ter—its persona and heart.
Ginny Harding holds a firm grip on the magic of art.
“She captures the horse’s personality,” said Linda Joiner of Santa Theresa, New Mexico, who
has commissioned many of Ginny’s richly hued colored-pencil drawings including her favorite, of her and husband Mike’s multiple graded stakes winner Kendall Jackson. “The horse has a specific look, and Ginny did an awesome job of capturing that.”
Ginny’s passion for people and animals—particularly horses— gives her a third eye into each subject’s psyche. “What Ginny sees makes her art special,” said longtime racing partner, customer and friend Karen Christiansen
of Ivins, Utah. That third eye, coupled with her artistic ability, her eye for detail, and her insistence on perfection, results in a realism that those who commission her work agree is unparalleled.
Her style, frequently montage, incorporates elements dear to the hearts of those who commission her work. “They’re not just average pictures,” said champion trainer Paul Jones of Cypress, California. “She comes up with good ideas for the backgrounds. She includes things that make the picture memorable.”
Jones’ favorite is of his 2005 All American Futurity winner Teller Cartel. “It has me and my daughter in the picture,” he said. “I’m holding her and she has her thumb up.
“Seeing one of her prints for the first time is always exciting,” Jones added. “It’s always a happy surprise.”
Ginny Harding often photographs her subjects before immortalizing them on canvas.
SPEEDHORSE, September 28, 2012 13
Competitive Spirit
Jacky Martin
Stacy Pigott: Speedhorse