2005 USEF Annual Convention

De Rosa Wins the 2005 USEF Media Award for Photography

By Charlene Strickland

Louisville, Kentucky, January 13, 2005. Horsesdaily.com correspondent Diana De Rosa won the US Equestrian Federation Media Award for Photography at the second day of the 2005 USEF Annual Meeting. “Peter Wylde and Fein Cera: No Guts, No Glory—Meeting the Olympic Challenge” was her winning image, photographed at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

The dramatic scene—a front view of one of our gold medalist jumpers—showed the bay mare and Wylde in full flight over rails of an oxer. In her acceptance speech, De Rosa credited her win to the late actor, Christopher Reeve.

For the past eight years, she has worked as a logistics coordinator for Reeve. She recalled how his death affected her. “When Christopher died, certain things meant more to me. What meant a lot to me was following his principles. He was a person who never gave up.”

She named four lessons that Reeve had taught her through example: “To never give up your dream. To always strive to be the best. To learn from your mistakes. To remember that nothing is impossible.”

She saw in her winning photo the same courage she admired in Reeve. She'd captured Wylde and Fein Cera in a moment of that same determination, and their spirit recalled her admiration for Reeve.

In her acceptance speech, she said that he “has left his strength and drive and determination with me, and with the rest of the world.” His struggle to survive after his accident has inspired many, and now helped De Rosa earn this national honor.

“I really wanted to win the photography award,” she said. “I'm known as a writer, but my photography has gone hand in hand with my writing.”

Although she has 27 years as a journalist—chronicling the successes of hundreds of equestrian champions—she'd never strived to win an award. “I'd thought to myself, over the years I was so busy. I didn't take the time or even think about awards.”

After Reeve's death, De Rosa told herself, “It's time.” His passing in October 2004 influenced her to submit samples of both her writing and photographs to the USEF Media Awards competition.

She said that seeing this USEF award in her office will spark a memory of Reeve whenever she sees it, just like the letters of commendation she's received from officials in Australia and Israel, for her work arranging Reeve's visits to those countries. Winning this honor will remind her “so much of the constant fight Chris faced every day, and the things he was able to achieve in his much too short lifetime.”

Diana De Rosa has been a regular contributor to Horsesdaily.com. She brought on the scene coverage from the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Read more about De Rosa in her Who's Who at horsesdaily.com.