Casares Captures Polo Sport and History in Fine Art Form

Wellington, FL (December 30, 2017) – With his Argentinian roots and passion for animals, it was only natural for Ramon Casares of Casares Fine Art Photography to train his lens on the world and horses of polo. With his distinctive use of light, shadow, and an intuitive feel for his animal subjects developed from his time as a zookeeper, Casares’ images of polo ponies illuminate the equine athletes of the sport of kings in a spectacular and emotive fashion. But his images of the ponies spotlight not only his unique ability to capture the essence of his subjects, but also milestones in the sport’s history and modern development that deliver another dimension of importance and intrigue to his work.

Casares’ portfolio includes many owners, players, and breeders, among them Adolfo Cambiaso, Bob Jornayvaz, Dona Sofia Polo, and Kheiron Labs; his works for the polo community have been featured as life-sized prints for private commissions, magazine covers, and currently hang in galleries around the world. With tens or even hundreds of horses per team, Casares has had no shortage of impressive specimens to choose from, but a few of the horses are true icons in the sport. The famous mare Sage, and her clone, ShowMe, both owned by Charlie Armstrong, appear as carbon copies in both appearance and prestige, with both mares sporting highly decorated careers marked by defining moments in polo history. Sage is one of the greatest American mares of the 1990s and is the foundation mare of one of the world’s top polo lineages. Her athleticism and exceptional genes prompted the birth of ShowMe, Sage’s identical twin and the first clone to ever play in the Argentinean Polo Triple Crown in 2013. Making history with this performance, ShowMe’s significance in the modern development of polo and horse breeding cannot be overstated. Dolfina Cuartetera is another famous Argentinian bred horse to grace Casares’ portfolio, as is her clone, Cuartetera 09. Owned by La Dolphina and bred and ridden by Adolfo Cambiaso, Dolfina Cuartetera was honored with the Lady Susan Townley Cup in 2009 and 2010 as well as being historically awarded the Best Argentine Polo Horse in 2006 and 2009 by the Association Argentina de Criodores de Caballos de Polo (AACCP).

Despite his spectacular talent with a camera, Casares views himself not as much as a photographer as an artist. “My goal in every shoot is to create a timeless portrait that captures the horse’s true essence with a touch of renaissance aesthetic to the images,” he said. “To me, its not just perfecting the horse under studio lighting, but instead to take my time to create one piece of art that the owner of the horse will love forever. I usually take hundreds of photos in one shoot, but don’t keep more than a few photos that I really think will transcend.”

With a childhood in Argentina surrounded by horses, Casares’ passion no doubt stems from this upbringing as well as his love for wildlife and animals. His dedication and passion for his art and the animals is immediately obvious in both his work ethic and the images he captures: “I put my heart and soul into each photo shoot. I think polo horses, sport horses, and horses in general are the most powerful and aesthetically impressive domestic animal. They are superbly majestic but also humble in their beauty.”