Among the animals that humans have managed to domesticate, horses have been the most influential. Some say that our advancement through much of our history has been made on the backs of horses. For centuries, these graceful and hardworking animals have been used for carrying people, pulling carts, farming needs and for battles.

In much of Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, villagers have practiced the ancient tradition of catching wild horses for centuries whose origin can be traced to the times of the Mongol Empire. But around the 1970s, with the advent of technology, this practice was almost abandoned. These horses, which had been tamed for over 1,000 years, soon became undomesticated. Today, they are collectively called Yılkı horses, “Yılkı” meaning “left to the wild” in Turkish. Yılkı horses are unique because they contain traits of various types of horses that were brought into the region over the centuries by traders and emperors and exhibit characteristics of Arabian, Mongolian, Akhal-Tekes, and Asil horses, for example, explaining the diverse sizes, hues, and leg variations.

The day I took this photo was my first time visiting the village of Kayseri Hörmetçi trying to shoot these Yılkı horses. Usually, uncle Ali, the owner of the farm, takes the horses to a large field and has them run there for the photographers to shoot. But that day, he did not. I was very upset and disappointed because that was the purpose of my trip. There were some people around who had come to buy these wild horses and they chose one of the Yılkı horses from among the herd. A farmhand was trying to catch the chosen horse but catching an untamed horse is not easy. Photographing such a scene is not easy either. It was so dusty most of the time that my camera couldn't even focus. But I didn't give up, I was observing the environment, wondering what I could shoot from there. And then I click the camera. It was one of the most fantastic moments I’ve experienced where only for a split second the dust made way for a magical photo. Had uncle Ali run the horses in the usual area that day, the photo might have been similar to numerous others taken before.

Every photography trip teaches me lessons about life. The lesson I learned that day was that sometimes even very sad and disappointing moments can hide extraordinary moments. Maybe ingenuity is to be aware of this and accept and embrace it.

Awarded in Px Paris Photo Prize (Steve Mc Curry was one of the judges) and IPA International Photography Awards, this photo has also been exhibited in many countries and published National Geographic YS and National Geographic Turkey offical accounts. Edition:1/1 Dimensions:3281*2187 Date: 16/07/2017 Location: Kayseri Hörmetçi, Turkey