Lusitano

Keron tells her story of meeting, photographing, and ultimately living in the land of her beloved Lusitano horse. Includes four essays-one at each chapter beginning, and an index of images providing the names of all the horses, riders if depicted, and the date and location the photographs were made. An excerpt from the Introduction by Keron Psillas Oliveira: ''Photographically I felt that I began to show the Lusitano in their environment and in a way that transcends time, discipline, or breeding. In other words, despite my tremendous respect for the breeding programs of Senhors Braga, Freire, Veiga, Torres, and so many others, I want my photographs to represent the eternal qualities that emanate from the horses. For these horses are noble and courageous. They are dignified, kind, trusting and engaging. And yet, there is something more, an ineffable quality found in the Lusitano that I have not found in other breeds. I believe that this horse is a direct channel to what we might call the spark of the Divine. ''Horses have been our partners for millennia. For centuries they have worked for us, carried us, and more recently, for those who seek a personal connection to them, they have uplifted us. They are our mirror. They show us our best and worst qualities in equal measure, without judgement. And they are always waiting for us to join them in a higher consciousness, the consciousness of now that is also eternal. ''The Lusitano has expanded my consciousness and enriched my life for more than 15 years. The photographs in this collection are a record of a journey shared with these magnificent beings.'' AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: Keron Psillas Oliveira is a photographer, writer, instructor and mentor, with an extensive background in the print and publishing industry. Raised in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, where after two decades in the printing and publishing industry, Keron became a professional photographer in 2006. Her published works include Forty Years Later, Meditation for Two, The Alchemy of Lightness, and Dressage for the New Age, with long-time collaborator Dominique Barbier. She self-published Loss and Beauty; creating solace in a land of infinite sorrow. Loss and Beauty puts composites of her original photographs in conversation to illuminate the personal journeys of victims of the unspeakable horror that was the Holocaust. Loss and Beauty won the prestigious Best of Show award for Photobook 2015. Keron includes work in Lusitano: noble, courageous, eternal gleaned from 12 years of photographing the Lusitano horses in Portugal, Brasil, and the United States. This color edition is bold and seductive. The photographer's love of beauty, form, and nuanced light emanate from every page. Keron makes her home in the Ribatejo region of Portugal among her beloved Lusitano horses. AUTHOR HOME: Ribatejo region of Portugal