Point. Shoot. Ride.
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By Barbara Aitken Jenkins
Crystal Kovacs is a photographer, horse lover, cyclist, mother, and a woman with conviction.
Crystal grew up with horses in her own backyard. Her parents used to pack horses into the mountains. Each year, for approximately 30 days, her mom and dad would take their family on a trip. “We would leave everything behind, load everything up on the horses, and go to the mountains,” she says.
Her family raised Halter horses, and, as a young girl, Crystal would flip through magazines looking at glossy photos. When Crystal was in college and needed to do an internship outside of her chosen major, she thought to focus on photography. She called the one and only Harold Campton, who was living in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, at the time.
“After working for Harold, I came home and said photography was what I wanted to do,” Crystal explains. “So, I bought some cameras from Harold and started doing some local shows, and then it just kind of gained steam from there. I understood how horses look. I understood the conformation. I understood the balance, and structure was easy for me. I needed to learn the business part. While working for Harold, I was allowed to see someone making money doing it.”
Crystal has worked for top photographers such as Larry Williams, Shane Rux, Dick and Barb Waltenberry, and more. However, she photographs one show in her own name–the Tom Powers Futurity. “I love it. It’s a super family-oriented, laid-back event with high stakes. But everyone is in a great frame of mind when they’re at the show, which is really fun.”
