NEF searching for photogenic horses, ponies, donkeys or mules.

The National Equine Forum (NEF) has opened its 2024 competition to find a cover star for its programme.

The contest is open for amateur equine photographers to submit a picture of their own horse, pony, donkey or mule, or one they have permission to photograph.

The winning image will feature on the cover of the programme for the 32nd National Equine Forum, taking place on Thursday, 7 March 2024, as well as in other contexts. The photographer will also be awarded either one ticket to National Equine Forum 2024 or a luxury hamper.

The 2024 winner will succeed NEF23 winner Ziggy the miniature donkey and Claire Evans Watkin.

The submitted image should be of a horse, pony, donkey or mule (singular or multiple), or a headshot or other anatomical area. It can feature the horse’s environment in the background, but should not include an image of an identifiable person.

On request, submitted images and details can be passed to the British Equine Trade Association (BETA) 2024 calendar competition. From the winning entries, one image will be judged Best in Show and awarded a luxury hamper.

NEF honorary publicity officer Sarah Shephard said: “We introduced our cover star photography competition last year and it was a big hit, with some stunning images submitted,

“We are excited about running it again this year and are looking for appealing, creative, and innovative photographs of members of your equine family to give the cover of our next programme a real wow factor. NEF is all about being ‘by the equestrian world, for the equestrian world’ and this competition is a great way to actively involve more people, in the build-up to our 2024 event.”

The deadline for entries is Friday, 22 September 2023, and entrants must submit a form confirming they are over 18 years old and that the image meets the specifications.

Entries to the cover photo competition can be submitted here. For details about the calendar competition, follow this link.

Image (C) Shutterstock