Rebecca Braitling and Caravaggio II at the 2025 Kentucky Three-Day Event. Image by Tazzie Eggins.
From the paddocks of Tasmania to the press rooms of Kentucky, equestrian photographer Tazzie Eggins has captured some of the sport’s biggest stars through her lens — including a memorable moment with Boyd Martin and a packet of Tim Tams.
Tazzie Eggins (centre) at the 2023 Kentucky Three-Day Event with Marty Bauman (left), Head of Media at Kentucky and Michelle Dunn (right), another amazing media organiser. Image supplied.
“I have always been that
one with a camera…”
Tazzie Eggins has always had a camera close by. Long before smartphones and Instagram, she was the kid capturing life on film. “I have always been that one with a camera,” she says. “Pre-smartphone, I had a pocket camera I used to take everywhere with me. Pre-digital, I cost my parents a fortune in film.”
Her passion turned professional in 2012, when she began photographing equestrian events in earnest. Since then, she’s honed her craft with the help of a few key mentors. “I’ve had some amazing mentors along the way, like Chris Esh and Derek O’Leary. Derek is always on hand to pick up the phone at my cries for help. I really appreciate his guidance and friendship, both on and off the photography field.”
Over the past decade, Tazzie has captured major equestrian events around the world. She’s attended Burghley, Blenheim, and Gatcombe in the UK as a spectator, and even managed to secure media accreditation at Chatsworth Horse Trials in 2016. “I managed to bribe my way to accreditation at Chatsworth,” she laughs.
But it’s the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event that holds a special place in her heart. “I’ve been twice and will definitely be back,” she says. Her first trip came about unexpectedly after a planned holiday to America with her ex-boyfriend fell through. “Cross country day at Kentucky was always on the to-do list,” she explains. “We split, and I still went ahead with the trip. But I approached Equestrian Life on the slight chance I could get accreditation — since I was going to do the whole event on my own, not just cross country day. Not many Aussie photographers do America; they more often go to Europe or the UK. The rest is really history now!”
Tazzie with her mascot, ‘Peppermint Fred’, in front of the statue of Bruce Davidson at Kentucky Horse Park. Image supplied.
RETURN TO KENTUCKY
This year, Tazzie returned to Kentucky as a photographer. She says photographing this event has plenty of rewards. “It’s the biggest horse trials in America, and the course is very open — no trees and dodgy shadows — and the main arena is just amazing.”
But it isn’t just the event itself that has left an impression. The media room has become one of her favourite places to be. “I’ve never experienced anything like it — not even in school!” she says. “It’s a very controlled, organised chaos. Everyone is there to do their media stuff, but also so nice and pleasant and chatty… or maybe that’s just because I’m the one with a weird accent from the land Down Under.”
“Fan girl photos
would have been
so easy if I was brave!”
Throughout this year’s event, Tazzie found herself surrounded by some of the biggest names in equestrian sport. “Every rider who placed in the top three was in the media room each day — for both the three- and four-star,” she says. “So I’m talking not just Boyd Martin, but Harry Meade and Mickey [Michael Jung]. After dressage, after cross country, and of course after the final placings — they were all there being interviewed and answering questions. Remarkable. Everyone was so willing. But I wasn’t brave enough to go say hello… fan girl photos would have been so easy if I was brave!” she laughs.
That all changed thanks to a packet of Tim Tams and a well-timed opportunity.
Tazzie’s ‘fan girl photo’ with Boyd Martin at the 2025 Kentucky Three-Day Event. Image supplied.
“I had a packet of Tim Tams with me all the way from Australia for Michelle, one of the media ladies I met previously, but sadly she couldn’t make it up from Canada,” Tazzie recalls. “I couldn’t bring myself to meet any of the riders — but told myself if Boyd was back in the media room on the final day, I’d ask for a ‘fan girl’ photo.”
With her Bluey teddy in hand, she decided to go for it. “I put my big girl pants on and approached him while we were waiting for Harry to join us for the press conference,” she says. “I asked for a trade-off — he gets the packet of Tim Tams and I get a photo with Bluey.”
Boyd laughed, agreed instantly, and even asked where she was from in Australia. “He tried to give the Tim Tams back — but I said, ‘Noooooo! They are yours!’” she laughs. “I got my photo with Bluey, we were good!”
Despite the small Australian contingent at the event — only two Australian-based riders competed — Tazzie felt a powerful sense of national pride.
“It’s something you can’t describe,” she says. “I felt it at my first international event at Burghley in 2014 too. To see the riders representing your country in uniform, or just seeing the Aussie flag — it’s like, ‘wow, we are here, in another country, on the main stage, representing AUSTRALIA.’”
Though she doesn’t ride herself, Tazzie sees her role as part of that broader picture. “Even though I’m not a rider and will always see myself as that little girl from Tasmania who loves taking photos, I guess I was representing Australia too — in the way I conducted myself around all those photographers and media people. I must be doing something right… I’ve been invited back. Again!”
As for dream events still on her list? “I think I’d love to do Aachen. They say the vibe there is something you can’t describe — you have to live it to understand,” she adds with a grin.
From the paddocks of Tasmania to the press rooms of the world’s biggest horse trials, Tazzie Eggins has turned her lifelong love of photography into a truly international adventure — Tim Tams, Bluey, and all. EQ
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