$25 ea.
The Artist
My name is Olivia Fox. I am from Virginia Beach where I was lucky enough to stay till I
left for college, a feat for most military children. I am gracious my father’s Naval career kept us
there so I could spend my childhood riding my bike to the beach, attending countless hours of
ballet classes, walking our family dogs around the neighborhood, attending classic car shows
with my Dad on the weekend, and spending many mornings watching the sun rise over the ocean
with my mom, dad, and two sisters.
Upon leaving for college I left in the past my lifelong passion for classical ballet. I was
looking for something new to delve into when I left. I stumbled upon horses and packing when I
received a scholarship for a National Outdoor Leadership School horse packing trip in the
Absaroka Wilderness for three weeks. After this trip, I realized I had found my new passion. For
the next three summers I would spend the entire season on horseback with the Forest Service out
of the Cody, Wyoming office. I worked as a trail inspector and a member of the trail crew where
I would pack horses and mules into the Shoshone National Forest for the week. After graduating
from Virginia Tech with a forestry degree I moved to Montana to further my backcountry career
by working as a packer for an outfitter out of the Flathead Valley. I recently moved down to
Broadus, MT where I am ranching with my boyfriend, three dogs, mare, and mule foal.
Amongst all of these experiences, I began to tell my stories through photographs and later short
writings that are now collected on my blog, livinlovinmules.squarespace.com.
The Moment
This photo was taken at the HH Ranch during my trip to see my dad graduate from the
second class of 2024. We had arrived at the top of the ranch, greeted by a herd of younger horses
that will become the future stock of Heroes and Horses. They milled about in a slowly stirring
sea of hooves, manes, swishing tails, grunts and squeals. I held my hand out trying to lure them
close to the fence. An older-looking mule was one of the first to brave the gesture. Slowly the
more weary younger horses began to approach. They apprehensively reached their heads forward
allowing my palm to rest somewhere on their necks. I occasionally would look up to see the sky
above painted with dancing vibrant colors on a backdrop of dark violet. Each color streaked
above the mountain tops, glowed in a neon hue. The sun itself was a radiant ball of orange that
was slowly sinking to its night's rest below the mountains. The dreamy evening continued on as
we, and the herd wandered about watching the sunset. We turned to leave, noticing that the
moon, opposite the sun, now held a high place in the sky. I turned one final time to the fenceline
before loading into the car. In almost an instant the herd had disappeared. Only three remained
for one last drink before retreating for the evening.
The Impact
This photo holds so much value to me. I have been following the Heroes and Horses
program since the spring of 2019 after I watched 500 Miles. Since then I have watched the
program grow through social media and their website always in awe of the message they carry.
Meanwhile I watched horses, mules and packing transform my life into what I wanted it to be.
The program became even more of an inspiration to me after I watched my father complete the
program and witnessing the impact it had on his life. To be able to mingle with the next
generation of horses for the program was exciting. The energy created by the potential impact
these horses will have on our veterans combined with a gorgeous mountain setting at sunset is
beyond words. I chose to portray this image in black and white to allow the viewer to paint it
with their own dreamscape, for that is what it felt like to me.
