Renowned New Zealand equestrian photographer Barbara Thomson has passed away age 75. She died from drowing after a fishing accident on 21 February 2017.
Thomson went missing on her daily morning fishing on the Waitahanui Stream near Lake Taupo. Her body was recoverd a day later by divers.
For fifty years Thomson was the leading photographer on the New Zealand equestrian scene and she mentored Libby Law and Jan Sutherland amongst others.
She began photographing horses in the 1970s with her Leica cameras and covered almost every Olympic Games and World Equestrian Games since 1986. Her last major intercontinental Championship was the 2014 WEG in Caen, France.
Thomson was also an eventing horse owner and co-owned Blythe Tait's Delta, as well as several horses for Heelan Tompkins, including Portrait, Prince of Princes, Zambezi and Heelan’s 2008 Olympic mount Sugoi. She was also involved in racehorse syndicates.
She kept fit by walking, aqua aerobics and her beloved fly fishing, and barely seemed to have aged in the last 20 years. Even at the age of 75, she continued to photograph equestrian events around New Zealand for riders and for NZ Horse & Pony.
Colleague Joan Gilchrist wrote that, "as a photographer, she was meticulous and professional – as well as very patient with horses being asked to stand still and prick their ears for a portrait! She was extremely generous in allowing use of her photographs to promote the sport, something that wasn’t always appropriately appreciated. Her efficiently maintained archive is a unique record of the growth and development of equestrian sport in this country."
"Barbara had a passion for fly-fishing, her early mornings on the Waitahanui Stream providing her with a challenge combined with peace and time to reflect. That she should lose her life in pursuit of that passion is ironic as well as tragic," said Gilchrist.
Barbara leaves behind her husband Tom, their daughter and son, Michelle and Mark, and Barbara’s wider family.
Read this beautiful tribute to Barbara Thomson on NZ Horse and Pony
Photo © Libby Law
Related Links
Barbara Thomson's official website
Unforgettable: Barbara Thomson