The Equestrian Vagabond, Merri Melde, is a horse photographer, writer, artist, cartoonist, endurance horse conditioner, spotted owl hooter, wildlife technician, trail builder, carriage driver, sound engineer, theatre techie, world traveler, racetrack groom, and a rabid, obsessed endurance rider and Tevis Cup finisher! (not all at the same time). . . in short, a Professional Vagabond. She hails from the Pacific Northwest and calls herself a Native Seattleite, though she sometimes wanders California, and often Idaho, and always the great West in general. She just happens to own the Most Beautiful Horse on the Planet, Stormy, who just happens to approve of these photographs, many of which he is the subject.

Merri has been behind the lens shooting horses since 1986, in the United States and around the planet. Her photos and stories have appeared in newspapers, websites, books, and magazines around the world.