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Celebrating 100 Years of Saratoga's Dark Horses
Last Friday, Aug. 23, The Dark Horse Mercantile on Broadway held an Artist Meet and Greet event with Karin Vollkommer, a painter who paintings tell stories about their subjects.
Vollkommer said that her path in painting has evolved over time. Her father and grandfather were both artists, so she was around art all the time, however she herself only truly started to paint after she had kids and was at home most of the time.
She eventually transitioned into doing a lot of commercial work for the likes of Disneyland and JC Penny, but had to sell her whole venue after the 1988 Wall Street crash.
Three years later, after the non-competing clause had expired, she began painting again.
“When I started to paint again, no one was doing Saratoga, I mean they were doing Saratoga, but it was always the races,” Vollkommer said. “So I started to paint, and when I started to paint I chose Spit and Spat, the Spirit of Life, things that weren’t being painted.”
For the recent event, Vollkommer had created a painting that depicted the 100 years of various dark horses throughout Saratoga Racecourse’s history, starting with Upset defeating Man-o’-War at the top of the painting. Vollkommer said that Marianne Barker, one of Dark Horse’s two co-owners, gave her the idea for the painting.
As per usual for Vollkommer’s paintings, the back also has a small piece of paper that describes the overall story being presented. In the case of her newest painting, the story focuses on Upset, the only horse to ever defeat the legendary Man-o’-War in a nearly 100:1 victory.
Along with the new painting, Vollkommer had some of her other notable works for sale, such as her top-selling piece, “Jockies,” and several different Christmas- themed paintings, along with some merchandise for the Dark Horse store, as well.
As another part of the event, Marianne Barker, co-owner of Dark Horse, brought the store’s mascot, a miniature horse called Upset, named after the first dark horse of Saratoga.
According to Barker, the new Upset is currently about 11 years old, and was born in Lexington, Kentucky. Originally, he was a show horse, and even made it as far as being the reserve champion at the National Miniature Horse Show for yearlings. The people who bought him originally started up their own line of horses though, so sold Upset and his brother.
“He has just been perfect,” Barker said. “He is so even tempered, and he’ll just do anything you ask of him. He’s been inside the store and it doesn’t even phase him.”
Barker also noted that the wrappings around Upset’s back ankles and how he held one leg slightly up were not indicative of any injury or strain. Rather, the posture was a horse’s resting stance, and the wrappings were akin to shin guards for humans, and one being black and the other red matched the store’s logo.
For more information, contact The Dark Horse Mercantile, at 518-587-0689.
