GABRIELE BOISELLE - PHOTOGRAPHER, PUBLISHER, HORSE-WOMAN It could be argued that Gabriele Boiselle has missed her true vocation . . . If she had been born a few thousand years earlier she would most certainly have fought alongside Penthesilea and her female warriors.   Just as they were, Gabriele Boiselle is a fighter, strong-willed and clever, courageous and unshakeable. And just as the female warriors before her, she also has a deep, natural love of horses, those noble creatures which play such an important part in her life and in her work. Unlike her ancient ancestors, however, the photographer does not nurture any belligerent ambitions – thank goodness!  She has swapped the bow and arrow for a camera and fountain pen - - and she uses these so powerfully that no one can escape the fascination of her pictures and her writings.   There is no question that Gabriele Boiselle is an absolutely top professional photojournalist. Sound training in Journalism, first-class equipment and the necessary comprehensive infrastructure which includes her own publishing house all contribute to her very respectible credentials. Even more important is her inner "professional“ attitude. After some initial experience in the print, radio and television areas, she recognised with far-sightedness that photography was the most appropriate medium for her -- and using her beloved horses as the primary subjects of her camera, she dedicated herself to these two areas from that point onwards. This decision was made over twenty-five years ago. Since then, Gabriele Boiselle has travelled hundreds and thousands of miles with her camera – and along the road has made the acquaintance of countless numbers of horses – and horsey people – building a photo archive the quality and quantity of which puts it -- and her -- in a class of their very own. Each individual picture in the collection has its own story to tell, and each story takes us – and the photographer  - on a special journey, whether under the scorching sun or in the freezing cold, in the south of Africa or the fascinating Mid-eastern world. From "A for Andalusian" to "W for Welsh Cob," numerous horse breeds are represented in her archive, but it is for her photographs of the Arabian Horse that she is most famous.    Over twenty-five years ago, she visited the Egyptian State Stud, Al Zahraa, for the first time --  and has been fascinated by the aesthetics and beauty of pure-bred Arabian horses ever since. She produced her first Arabian calendar in 1985 and since then she has been dedicated to the spirits and beauty of these wonderful creatures. She has dealt with each and every horse in meticulous detail -- which means that she has been to their places of origin, in the open landscape or in the homes of their breeders, following their strides and movements with her camera, regardless of the weather and often under extremely difficult conditions. The secret of her success is indeed to be found in this rare combination  - on the one hand a highly aesthetic feeling for situations and special moments which should be captured by the camera, on the other hand an intrepid toughness not to be influenced by elementary adversities -- or indeed to be put off from any tasks she has set herself. And last but not least an infallible journalistic sense to create something out of each moment which becomes an unusual "story,“ an exiting portrait, a fascinating photographic documentation of a moment in time frozen for eternity.  Gabriele Boiselle’s photographic artistry means that for a long time, she has been one of the most renowned equestrian photographers in the world. Her photos are published regularly in all important equestrian magazines, her calendars decorate thousands of walls every year and a very impressive number of copies of her books are published. However, she is by no means at the finish line, yet!  How could she be?  As long as there are horses somewhere in the world whose tracks she has not followed, as long as there are equestrian photo stories to tell, and as long as there are people throughout the world to influence with love for these unique creatures – Gabriele Boiselle will continue her work.   How lucky for the horses . . . and how lucky for us, for thanks to her pictures we are able to continue discovering new aspects of the horse world.