Artwork by Jane Gaston, pictured with Lumiere, is the official artwork of the 2015 Vermont Summer Festival. Photo by Jennifer Wood Media
The official artwork of the 2015 Vermont Summer Festival by artist Jane Gaston.

May 23, 2015 – East Dorset, Vermont – The Vermont Summer Festival has selected work by Jane Gaston as the official artwork of the 2015 competition. The Vermont Summer Festival hosts six weeks of top jumper, equitation, and hunter competition from June 30 through August 9 at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT.

A well-known artist and successful competitor in her own right, Gaston of The Plains, VA, got her start riding at the age of seven when a business partner of her father’s gifted Gaston a pony named Frosty. She now has numerous riding accolades to her credit and decades’ worth of hunter championships and ribbons in her trophy case.

Gaston’s time isn’t only spent in the tack, however. She is also a talented painter and her work has donned souvenir programs and promotional materials at horse shows across the country. A self-taught artist, she paints commissioned pieces in a variety of mediums.

“I spend my mornings riding and then I paint in the afternoon,” she said of her balance between riding and work. “I picked up art because, as a kid, if I wanted a new pony, I could just paint one, or if I wanted a new dog, I could just paint one.”

This summer will mark the third time that Gaston’s work has been selected as the official artwork of the Vermont Summer Festival. The work that is featured in the 2015 Vermont Summer Festival advertising campaign as well as on the souvenir program, poster, and other promotional materials was painted in watercolor and gouache.

“I try and keep the venue in mind while making the horse the spectacle,” she said. “It’s always an honor to see your work at a horse show, and Vermont is one show I have always wanted to ride at. Maybe this year is the year.”

The Vermont Summer Festival is New England’s largest hunter/jumper competition and offers more than $750,000 in prize money, making it the richest sporting event based on purse in the state of Vermont. For over 20 years, the Vermont Summer Festival has attracted exhibitors and their families to the Manchester region in southern Vermont for great competition in an ideal summer setting.

In addition to a schedule full of exciting offerings for riders, the 2015 Vermont Summer Festival will feature all-new Kruse Cushion Ride (KCR) footing in all competition, warm-up and lunging areas.

The Vermont Summer Festival is a proud member event of the Show Jumping Hall Of Fame, the Marshall & Sterling League, and the North American League (NAL). Please e-mail or visit the website for more information about the Vermont Summer Festival.