About the Author
John S. Hockensmith
The author is an artistic photographer who mixes prose and poetry to communicate his passions and utilizes photojournalism and photo-illustration, employing historical shots as complements to the creative aura of his contemporary imagery. The horse is his metaphor, and John Stephen Hockensmith rides it in an all-out gallop across the plains, canyons and mountains of the American West.
Spanish Mustangs in the Great American West
By John S. Hockensmith
There is no greater epic in history than the story of how horses were returned to the Western Hemisphere and proceeded to spur change in the course of mankind around the world. John S. Hockensmith’s new book, Spanish Mustangs in the Great American West, lassos the courage and bravado of Spanish explorers and their horses as they sailed across the roiling Atlantic Ocean and traversed the often treacherous wilderness of North and Central America. Boldly stitching together America’s first daring exploits of horsemanship, this story dates from 1493, when Columbus re-introduced equines to the New World after a mysterious extinction had erased the animals from the land thousands of years earlier. Detailing the conquistadors’ sieges on powerful steeds that overwhelmed native inhabitants and the subsequent release of the first mestenõs, the book is lavishly illustrated. Troves of historical artifact pictures, period maps and lush photographs of modern descendants of the Spanish horses in the dramatic vistas of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and Oklahoma imbue the history with pulsing life. This unique multi-genre work illuminates the dispersal of horses among Native American tribes and the rapid rise of the Indian horse culture from Mexico to the Canadian Rockies. Chronicling the emergence of the United States, the saga relates how horsescarried the fearless mountain men explorers west of the Mississippi River and served as faithful partners of the iconic American cowboys. Yet as the pace of life quickened in the 20th century, the Spanish-line horses became threatened by man and his seemingly insatiable lust to harvest them for sale, for military use, for sport or even for rendering. Shocked by the rapid decline of herds that had once numbered in the millions, a few 20th century horsemen stepped in as bloodline conservators, preserving what they called Spanish Mustangs—a living part of our American heritage and an emblem of the spirit of our freedom.
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Gypsy Horses and the Travelers' Way
By John S. Hockensmith
For a thousand years, Gypsies wandered, seldom welcome, often misunderstood, traveling and searching, for today's daily bread. Gypsy Horses and the Traveler's Way rides bareback into the midst of their mysterious culture. This poetic adventure celebrates proper Romani heritage and their beloved horses, in the fields, life on the road, and the journey to Appleby fair. The first 100 pages of the book is a 10,000-word narrative, accompanied by more than 235 travel images, followed by a brief history of the Gypsies' last 1,000 years in Europe with 15 historical images from the University of Liverpool archives. The second section of the book is an 84-page layout of 40 artistic images placed sparsely on two page spreads.