At fifteen years of age, he’s the youngest recipient ever of the Sovereign Award for Photography, the highest honour bestowed by the Jockey Club of Canada, one that recognizes outstanding achievement in Canadian Thoroughbred racing and breeding.
But if luck is where opportunity meets preparation, Matt’s got the formula figured out. The photo opportunity was the 2008 Queen’s Plate but the groundwork began long before that.
In fact, it goes right back to the beginning if you believe in pedigree: Matt’s father is legendary Standardbred Hall of Fame trainer and driver Ron Waples, and his mother is Monica Thors, a respected equine photographer who knows what it’s like to reign in her field.
It was the summer of 2007 when Matt bought his first DSLR camera; it was in the last half of 2008 that he began to get serious about taking and selling photos.
If published photos are the equivalent of races, his winning photo is one of only two wins so far in the Thoroughbred magazine pages. The field of eight entries for the Sovereign Award included the veteran father-son duo, six-time winner Micheal Burns Sr. and seven-time winner Micheal Burns Jr.
Matt’s ‘trainer’, photographer Dave Landry, is no stranger to the horse world. Landry has served as a mentor to young Matt, taking him on photo shoots and introducing him to the publishing industry.
When Landry asked him to help out on Queen’s Plate Day, Matt’s main focus was on “staying out of the way”. Matt described the scene and the initial media scrum surrounding Not Bourbon, the winning horse. “I stayed back a bit and it just happened,” he recalled – waiting while the owner went up to the horse, then two people moved apart that had been blocking the view and his camera was ready to capture a very emotional winning moment.
Landry describes the Sovereign Award as the “the fastest kick start in history,” but from what he’s seen, Matt can handle it. Landry says Matt’s got the enthusiasm, people skills and lots of energy.
Equine photography can be tricky so Matt’s background with horses certainly helps too. “You know what you can do without interfering,” says Matt. “You know your limits.” For example, when he’s taking pictures of a two-year-old race, he’ll stay away from the rail so he doesn’t spook the horses. He’s also found that the time he has spent watching races makes it easier for him to pick out who’s going to win as they come around the turn: he knows which horse to follow.
Right now Matt’s in Grade 10 at Bishop Macdonell Catholic School in Guelph, Ontario but he is already making plans to attend Ryerson University to study photography. His fellow students had seen him taking photos around school but they had no idea that it had become a professional pursuit.
As for the win, “It’s just a fluke,” said Matt, but deep down he must wonder if that’s true.
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