Raising Connections
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Raising Connections
Horse World in Focus - Erin Gilmore Photography 06-08-2026
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From a podcast first released in July 2024, Rachann talks with Erin Gilmore, a well-known local photographer who can be seen at equine events throughout Maryland and Virginia. From her website eringilmorephotos.com, "My specialty in equestrian photography stems from my many years as an equestrian journalist and photographer, and during my career I’ve been lucky enough to stand ringside at the Olympic Games, interview the sport’s best athletes around the world, and photograph the treasured partners of riders at all levels. It takes a horse person to truly showcase that connection between humans and their beloved equines. As a rider and lifelong horse owner, I understand that bond and nothing makes me happier than showcasing it through images."
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Welcome to Raising Connections. I'm your host, Ray Shann Mayer. This is the program where we talk about your critters, companions, commerce, and agriculture, and all the connections between them. Erin Gilmore from Gilmore Photography. Welcome.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for having me. You are a six-year veteran in our area. Most people who have done eventing and see the equier, know Maryland Horse Council, know you. Or they know when they see you out running around with cameras who you are.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they do know me at this point. I'm always out there.
SPEAKER_01You're always out there. But you're out there doing photography and putting your photography out there. This is a profession for you, but also an act of passion.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Yeah, I'm a horseperson, a lifelong horseperson. So that's where it comes from.
SPEAKER_01Before your six years in Maryland, you were in Virginia actively pursuing photography.
SPEAKER_00I was actually in Wellington, Florida for nine years and moved to Northern Virginia.
SPEAKER_01So then I'm gonna have to ask this differently then. What is your experience in photography and how did you get into this field?
SPEAKER_00Just from being a horseperson and always wanting a career in horses and horse industry, not knowing what that would be ultimately. From way back, I rode, taught, rode professionally for a bit as a hunter jumper trainer. But mostly I was in equestrian media for a good 15 years as a writer, reporter, and editor before I ever picked up a camera. Oh my. So photography happened because I was able to be at these amazing locations and interviewing famous writers. And with your article, you're writing comes a photo. So I started trying, maybe in 2010, to take some pictures, and they were very bad. But as my media career progressed, I kept taking pictures and I started getting noticed for my photography while I was still a magazine editor in 2014 or so. That's when my photos started getting published more. So from there it just uh grew. And I decided in 2018 that I wanted to try it full time as a photographer. And that actually did coincide with me moving from Wellington, Florida, where I'd lived full-time for about nine years, to Northern Virginia. And I lived on a friend's horse farm and sort of went from there. And it's been a very fast six years since then.
SPEAKER_01Time does go fast, especially with those three years of COVID. I think everybody lost a lot of time there.
SPEAKER_00COVID was interesting, but I feel like my business grew because horse people didn't travel and I was not traveling, so I got a lot of local business during COVID. COVID was very interesting.
SPEAKER_01Very interesting. So let's back up a little bit here. You started saying, I wanted to be in the horse industry. This was what I wanted to be. And you then said media and then photography and riding. Some of our listeners are young folks going, I want to do something in the horse industry. Some of our listeners are middle-aged folks going, I want a second career change. And some of our listeners are, but I still love the horses and I'm not able to ride. So what advice would you give them? If you started off going, I want to be in the horse industry, did you start off riding?
SPEAKER_00Did you start off I started off writing everything? I started off doing everything. I was a groom. I did everything I could, right? I was a groom. I played polo, I taught polo. I went and taught some dressage, learned mostly dressage, and mostly it was a hunter jumper rider. But I tried everything. And I I was very young when I was published as a writer. I was about 20 when I started working for horse magazines. So I did kind of keep that going throughout, but I just was involved in some way, and I didn't know how it would end up, but I kept trying everything, you know, really at the same time.
SPEAKER_01You finished a high school degree. Did you go into a college degree or did you go to the barn? Did you go to a skills program?
SPEAKER_00I'm a proud college dropout and proof that you can succeed with real life experience. I was in college, yeah. I was a full-time college student in California where I'm from. And I got my first magazine job when I was still in college. So I was a published writer while I was still a full-time student. And uh I was offered a job as an assistant editor at the magazine I worked for. And so I stopped going to school and I said, if I ever need to go back and get my degree, I will.
SPEAKER_01You went in, you took the job as an editor and decided that so with the conversation we were at was you would go back and get that degree. Did you ever find the need to go back and get a degree?
SPEAKER_00I never found the need to go back and get a degree. Not to say that degrees are important, everyone should get one. But for me, I have never left full-time work and been very busy. And I always wanted to be out there experiencing the world and doing things. And seeing my name published as a writer at the age of 20 really drove me to keep going. And having a really great early editor, Kim Miller in California, she supported my career as a writer and a reporter. And that was really instrumental in moving me forward.
SPEAKER_01So some natural talent was recognized early and it really forged a career path for you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was a really, really good start. And I stopped writing while I was a professional trainer for a few years, but I started again when I went to go be a groom in Europe and then came back and sort of said, okay, I'm gonna try and still be a trainer, but I'm also gonna get back into media and see which one takes me somewhere. And it was media.
SPEAKER_01Do you think it's part of your personality that allows you to be so flexible and take the risks? For some people, saying, I'm gonna go be a groom in Europe for a while and see what I can learn might sound like a huge risk.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I um am okay with failure. I I was okay even then saying, well, if it doesn't work out, at least I tried and I know what it's like. It is part of my personality to get out there and do it. You know, I moved to Florida from California with two suitcases. I moved from Florida to Virginia with not that much. So I always want to get out there and try.
SPEAKER_01Getting out there and experiencing, seeing what it's like. When you get out there on the field as a rider, do you take that spirit with you?
SPEAKER_00Oh man, well, now I'm an amateur rider in my 40s, so it's harder to take that with you. But yeah, I I try. I try. Uh, I very much love being an amateur competitor and rider now with a horse I'm very comfortable with.
SPEAKER_01Have you always been a rider?
SPEAKER_00Always. Always.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, since I could walk. And was that a family event or was that just something you chose to do?
SPEAKER_00My mother had a really strong interest in horses and was a hot walker at Balmont Racetrack growing up, but she didn't go beyond uh riding lessons. Um, when I was in my 20s, we owned horses together. When I lived in California, we we rode together a bit. So it came from her, but I'm not from a quote unquote horse family of trainers or anything like that.
SPEAKER_01So maybe a family with a spirit who can be a bit free in what they experience and take that spirit with them where they go.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and both my parents are business owners and very driven in in their careers as well.
SPEAKER_01There we go. One of my favorite books is Drive, and it talks about she smiles and nods. If you can see this, Drive is one of those books that says it's in your spirit, it's in your soul, and if you don't do it, you get a little bit anxious.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's so true. And and not that I don't sit still, I do, and I take like my home time, it's very valued, but I'm very driven to see what's next. And I'm always waking up every day and thinking, okay, well, this is another day for opportunity, whatever's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_01So the transition between being the groom to being the rider, being the rider at college, making some decisions, and then into photography all flow together for you. The horse industry is the only place that you've ever used your talents for writing and photography.
SPEAKER_00I did a couple mainstream news articles just to prove to myself that I could. I did some heavily researched mainstream news articles in the Bay Area that got a lot of press, and I sort of was like, okay, I can do this if I need to, but man, I love equestrian media. It's all really been in equestrian media with few exceptions.
SPEAKER_01And that wraps the the passion of the equestrian group back together.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because if you're involved in what you love, of course you're going to get after it 110%, right?
SPEAKER_01What is it that you love when you walk out and you're like, yes, I want to do equestrian media, I want to do equestrian photography. What is it that draws you to it?
SPEAKER_00Well, it was amazing the places that equestrian media took me. It took me to the Olympics, it took me around the world, around Europe, and it gave me relationships with the top writers in our country, which always made me wildly nervous, but helped me grow as a person because I was forced to interview the likes of Kent Farrington, who is one of the more intimidating people around. There was always a draw there. And I learned, you know, to write and to ask the direct questions and to say the things that maybe not everybody would say in a professional way. And that was always a challenge. It was always fun. It was always a little bit scary, to be honest, but it was never boring.
SPEAKER_01It's never boring. Media is never boring. Being an equestrian is never boring. You never know what you're gonna find in the barn. Maryland Horse Council has the equier as a publication. There's lots of horse publications, not just in Maryland, but out there in all the places you've been. What do you see in the things that they're doing really right? What changes have you seen?
SPEAKER_00There's a huge shift away from independent equestrian media and news and reporting to PR-based coverage where, you know, actually the majority of my friends and colleagues who were reporters with me and writers are running their own PR companies. So it's gone from reporting on the show to working for the people used to report on. Is that good? I don't think so as a whole, but that's sort of where it's led us with social media and all the coverage that people sort of need. Chronicle of the Horse is maybe one of the last ones standing, which is worrisome.
SPEAKER_01When you say PR companies, what you mean is that writers or inventors or someone who wants to put their knowledge and their influence out in the world can buy time to get that.
SPEAKER_00That's right. And also horse show organizers. So the events themselves. I turned down actually a really big job to go um be that person for the global champions tour in 2015. Uh no, actually it was 2017, where they wanted me to come in and be their voice. And I would no longer be reporting on them, which is what I had been doing, but I would be reporting as their voice. So whatever their message was was what they wanted to put out there. I decided I didn't want to do that.
SPEAKER_01When you say PR, that is your press person, not your reporter. It's the opposite side.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'd often be the only press person in a global champions tour press conference for years. I had an ongoing thing with their announcer who ran the press conferences, Steven Wilde, where I would be the only person to ask an objective question in that press conference. He would just look at me at a certain point and say, Okay, what's your question? So in that way, you know, it has changed to where things are less objective and more driven by the message that the organizer wants you to hear, which is interesting to watch.
SPEAKER_01We were recently at the Chesapeake Associated Press Conference, which is the Mid-Atlantic Associated Press items. And one of the discussion points was reporters being kept safe when they ask questions that are not popular. Do you see that in the horse world, in the racing world, in the event world?
SPEAKER_00I don't see those questions being asked anymore. I think eventing and eventing nation in the eventing world does a good job of still being objective, but part of their business model also is to work for some shows and help the shows cover their events as PR. So they're playing both sides too. It's a really interesting dynamic because everybody has to make money. Chronicle the Horse can be called independent still, but it's hard for them to stay afloat financially, I think, just from that old model of buying ads and buying magazines.
SPEAKER_01The Maryland Horse Council is so fortunate. We have a lot of sponsors that keep product coming out to our listeners. It keeps the government relations committee going. It keeps the voice of that Maryland Horse Council really engaged. And I'm very proud of our sponsors, our advertisers, everyone who keeps the money flowing to keep the services flowing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, Maryland Equestrian, from what I know and from what I've experienced, it's very driven and organized. It seems like in a very strong way.
SPEAKER_01I'm really proud of them. When you are at an event, you as a photographer need to disappear so that you don't become a distraction, but you need to get that photo. How do you do that?
SPEAKER_00As a rider, I instinctively know what the rider I'm photographing is thinking. My whole team, because at a three-day event, I need six people to help me cover a three-day event. They're riders and they think the same way. So where we put ourselves is very important to not be a distraction. Um it comes from me living in literal fear on a five-star show domain circuit that I would be the cause of McLean Ward's horse to spook if I was in the wrong spot. Adventures are a lot friendlier, but I carry that with me and I make a plan. I make a plan and I am always ready to adjust my plan if needed. But uh, you can get to where you see the energy of the moment and capture the energy of the moment, and of course stay out of the field of play.
SPEAKER_01When you leave the field and you have all of this work that you're bringing back, most of us in our educational careers somewhere have written a paper and gone through all the drafts and the edits. So you get this amazing amount of information, and then you do the writing. We talked about writing. What happens when you have all these people out there taking pictures, capturing feelings? What's the behind the scenes look like? What does that look like when you leave?
SPEAKER_00It's an art and a science, and I have to say, through the last six years, I have honed it down to a science of exact workflow that I'm very proud of. Every rider who rides at one of my events could tell you that I can deliver them photos that are final edited faster than anybody else, really, in the industry. It starts with the person who's on their feet behind the camera, shooting clean and shooting accurate, and not coming back with 4,000 photos to filter through, but to come back with only those photos that are final in their camera. So that's what shooting clean is. So we we narrow the data down. We don't go with, you know, 25,000 photos to spend a week going through. I had 11 cameras on course last weekend, and we edited with two to three people, and I had 15,000 photos up by Sunday night ready for riders to review and purchase. So it's a management of that raw data, but it's a development of an amazing team of professional photographers because 11 cameras in the wrong hands is three weeks of work. 11 cameras and train passionate hands who understand the assignment is a really smooth time. So it's something I've worked really hard on the last few years.
SPEAKER_01Do you train your photographers or do you find them with that passion and that drive and the eye?
SPEAKER_00Both, because you don't get good without passion and drive and an eye. And then I train them from there and I build myself a system that supports. Supports is very important, you know, supports and doesn't diminish. Anyone who's out there trying has already won in my book. If you're out there standing there for me to take pictures, so I'm gonna support you in any way I can. But I develop the confident skill and eye of everybody who works with me, and we're all working for the same end goal, really, to make great photography, but to make our time worth it out there.
SPEAKER_01If you could tell one piece of advice to the listeners who sitting here listening to this in their car, has read the equary, has seen you on the field taking pictures, what would you say to them?
SPEAKER_00Find the people who will support and lift you up and walk away from the people that will diminish and put you down every time.
SPEAKER_01I love that. Aaron, if we want to reach you, where do we find you?
SPEAKER_00Boy, I hope it's easy, man. Social media everywhere. Aaron Gilmore photography, Facebook, Instagram, website. I never miss an email. I answer every email. You can email me at questions, any aspiring photographer, because I was that very short time ago. I will answer questions even if I can't help. I'll also always respond.
SPEAKER_01You talk about those aspiring young folks or the aspiring folks who are doing a second career change. You have someone coming to shadow you. You're opening up that community and a community when in a media organization things can be very valuable because the piece of the pie is getting smaller and smaller. What leads you to open up and be valuable to other people as a resource?
SPEAKER_00I believe that there's enough for everybody. There's too much work for me to do. Why would I try and capture it all? Right? There is enough room in this industry for everybody who wants to try. And shutting people out will never get you anywhere in the long run. So giving everybody a chance is really important. Operating on the fact that there are no secrets and open communication and transparency is a much better path than trying to like hoard the business or have that kind of an attitude. I did have another interview recently, and the term scarcity mindset came up. And I love that because I operate in an abundance mindset where there's enough to go around, not uh scarcity.
SPEAKER_01Many years ago, I was told by a very wise person, I locked this one in, the more you know, the more you have to give. And if you don't give it away, you get clogged up.
SPEAKER_00Right. Nobody wants to be clogged up. And it's just more fun to talk about what you're passionate about. And if there's people out there who are drawn to you and want to talk about it, well, of course you welcome them.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Sharing that information is really important to you and sharing your knowledge. Why is that? Is it something you believe or is it something that was given to you as a gift?
SPEAKER_00It's because when I started as a photographer, I felt a little lost and I didn't have that person. I had sort of a, I have to figure this out. There's a lot of nice photographers out there, especially in Europe. The European professional photographers were always really great to talk to, but I didn't have a mentor in my corner who was transparent and open and supportive of my career. So I was supportive of my career and I grew it myself. But from that, I thought, well, there's no reason why I should not be open and supportive of other people. And eventing, eventing really solidified that for me because one person can't cover a three-day event as an official photographer. It's impossible. They're on cross-country, right? I need a team. And so if I'm gonna have a team of people stand outside for me in the rain and the heat all year round, they deserve my utmost support, respect, and feedback and everything else. So that is why I open myself up to growing a team of photographers and supporting other photographers.
SPEAKER_01We all reach a certain point in our lives where we know what we're looking for and we know what we've removed. When you have someone come to you and say, Can you help me? Can you mentor me? How can I help you? What are you looking for? What advice would you be giving that person to go work with someone else? How can they prep themselves?
SPEAKER_00Well, I think in photography it's unique because it's an art and you're never going to be stamping that I'm finished, I've mastered this, this is done, right? You'll always be looking at a subjective piece of art in your photography. So taking photos is number one. Take bad photos, many bad photos, and they will start to get good. And like I said previously, just work with people who will support you.
SPEAKER_01We're getting close to the end. Anything else you think that we should put in here?
SPEAKER_00You know, I just think as a business, photography is a really amazing thing to do. It's fun and always a challenge. And, you know, I'm not photographing architecture. I'm photographing something that I am truly passionate about. So as a rider and a horse owner and a farm owner, I bring my passion for horses into every photograph I take. And I really translate that to my team, with some exceptions. I have to say, I have one of my top shooters, is an amazing Lovettsville-based guy who is not a horse person and keeps showing up with us crazy horse girls on our photography team for over a year now and has just got the eye for horse photography. So there are exceptions out there. It's not like you have to be a horse person to do this, but you do have to have the drive and be passionate. And people like that impress me every day. And I really enjoy watching his eye develop into a professional photographer and everybody I work with. It's just so much fun.
SPEAKER_01You spend a lot of time at Lochmoy. You spend a lot of time in Virginia, and Lochmoy is also a Maryland Horse Council sponsor, and Carolyn's quite involved. I love it when people work together in the Atrede Association to build something better.
SPEAKER_00Lochmoy is such a valuable resource for our community and for eventing, and Carolyn is an inspiring force. So I really love working with her and her team.
SPEAKER_01She's an amazing lady. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody on kilts on horses soon. I hear that something in the works.
SPEAKER_00Okay. I'll be there to take pictures if that comes up.
SPEAKER_01I love it. Erin, we're going to be looking for you out there, enjoying your photography, enjoying your gifts that you share. Thank you for being part of the Maryland Horse Council and sharing your work with us.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. I appreciate the chance to reach maybe some new people, especially with the three day eventing in Northern Virginia, Maryland. I am out there a lot, so I'm always happy to talk to people about photography, meet new friends, all of that.
SPEAKER_01This program is a production of Raising Connections Media Company, hosted and produced by Rishanne Mayer and edited and mixed by Robin Temple.