A Horse for My Kingdom — Ballinasloe Horse Fair
This series was photographed in October 2019 during the Ballinasloe Horse Fair in County Galway, one of the oldest horse fairs in Europe and the last edition before the COVID pandemic.While moving through the fair I suddenly found myself in the middle of a horse auction that felt less like a sale and more like a confrontation. Men surrounded a small piebald pony, shouting offers, clapping hands and challenging each other in a tense negotiation that resembled a tribal dance.Without hesitation I stepped into the crowd and began photographing. At the center of the scene was a striking red-haired man, almost alone against the others.The auction lasted for hours but ended with no agreement. In the final moments the pony’s owners — two brothers — walked away without selling the animal, unable to agree among themselves on the price.The scene unfolded among members of several Irish Traveller families, for whom horse trading remains an important cultural tradition.
An unexpected moment of tension and negotiation at the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.