Original Painting of Teddy and Karen's Memorable 2008 Rolex Run to be Auctioned Off

Bidding will soon get under way for an original painting of Theodore O'Connor (Teddy) and Karen O'Connor on course at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event 2008. This incredible painting will be the pice de rsistance of the silent auction at the June 2 "That's a Promise" Tour event to be held during the Upperville Horse Show in Middleburg, VA, at the Middleburg Community Center. The silent auction will close at the end of the evening, and all proceeds raised by the painting go to support the USEF high-performance efforts. All riders and horse enthusiasts are invited to attend, mingle with Karen, David and others, and bid on this and other items to help the teams have the best possible shot at something wonderful in 2010.

Created by acclaimed artist Patrick O'Brien, the 24" x 32" painting utilizes both traditional composition and typography in a pop art style that celebrates iconic figures such as Teddy. The painting was based on a photo taken by CLiX photographer Shawn Hamilton. O'Brien, Hamilton, and Pennfield Feeds sponsored the painting, so that 100% of the winning bid can go to help the USA be competitive on the international stage.

Interested bidders who can't get to the Middleburg event may email bparise@pennfield.com by Monday, June 1, at 6 p.m. to arrange for remote bidding by phone. The painting is valued at over $4,000. Opening bid is set at $800, and reserve is set at $3,500.

This silent auction is one of eight that Pennfield is sponsoring to benefit USEF programs, through the That's a Promise Tour. For more information about Pennfield and the That's a Promise Tour, or for information about making reservations to attend, please visit www.thatsapromisetour.com.

About the Artist Award-winning artist Patrick Reid O'Brien works in mixed media, creating compelling canvases in the pop art style that speak to the passion and intensity of the subject. O'Brien won his first juried competition at the age of six, and never looked back. He graduated with honors from St. Mary's College of Maryland with a BA in Fine Art. While there, he studied oil painting under Thomas Rowe, a student of the realist school of Jaques Maroger from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

O'Brien was chosen as the official artist of the 300th anniversary of the Port of Baltimore, and his painting of the U.S. Capitol was recently honored by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Coincidentally, O'Brien is the great, great, great, great grandson of Thomas Ustick Walter, architect of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.

O'Brien's work is found in galleries, corporate and private collections around the world. His work is acclaimed in several sporting worlds, the most recent came in 2008 with the debut of his first equestrian sporting works at the Washington International Horse Show.

About the Photographer Canadian native Shawn Hamilton graduated from The University of Toronto with a BSc in Computer Science. Soon established in database management in the advertising industry, her passion for horses and photography became impossible to keep in check any longer, and in 1984 CLiX Photography was born. In 1986 Ms. Hamilton's work appeared on the cover of The Corinthian Horse Sport magazine and The Canadian Horsemen and her new career took off.