Athletes and artists
How some Rutgers people spend their free time
Archived article from Nov 9, 2001
By Douglas Frank
Riding the winds, snapping the shutter
Margaret Conroy, an award-winning equestrian photographer, carefully aims her Nikon and sights through its 70-210mm lens at her brother-in-law Michael Zeugin, as he speeds across the surface of Spruce Run in Clinton, N.J., on a windsurfing rig.
Her pictures and his words became the cover story in the fall 2000 issue of New Jersey Outdoors magazine, representing a successful collaboration brought together by professionalism, not merely family convenience.
Zeugin partnered with Conroy on the photo shoot because of her expertise in photographing equestrian competitions, which, he notes, requires "an ability to sense the horse and rider gathering themselves for jumps and transitions much like windsurfers do. I knew she would be able to sense moves on the water before I made them."
"You have to be patient and wait for the wind to be just right so that he can come past you," Conroy says. "It took us about three hours to get those pictures."
In addition to being free-lance photographers and writers (and in-laws), the two share the distinction of being employed by Rutgers, Zeugin as a part-time lecturer in English on the Newark campus and Conroy as a full-time secretary for the department of family and consumer sciences of Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Hunterdon County.
When not working at the university, Zeugin, who earned his master's from Rutgers-Newark, writes articles for regional and outdoor publications about his pursuits. An avid outdoor sportsman, he is certified to teach and coach five different skiing disciplines -- snowboarding, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, cross-county racing and Telemark skiing. In warmer weather, he pursues windsurfing, ocean surfing, kiteboarding, white-water canoeing, kayaking, horseback riding and upland bird hunting.
"I like to be outdoors," he says simply, "Life is two things to me: nourishment of the mind and nourishment of the body. I hate having a stagnant mind and a stagnant body."
Conroy has been taking pictures over the last six years for Horse News, a monthly newspaper published by the Hunterdon Democrat.
"I have loved photography ever since I was a kid," recalls Conroy. "And because I'm horse-crazy too, I was always taking my camera to farms and photographing horses."
Her photos have been on the Horse News cover about 15 times, as well as in other regional and international horse publications, she says. "They submitted some of my photos to the American Horse Publications Association, and I have had two second-place awards.
"But I take pictures of anything," she adds, noting that she carries a camera along with her just about everywhere she goes. She's the "family historian," chronicling family and friends at horse shows, graduations, weddings and other gatherings. "If you go on vacation with me, you come away with a photo album," she says.
Ever the horse enthusiast, Conroy formerly worked for a horse shipper, arranging national and international transportation for horses and grooms for such customers as the U.S. equestrian team.
"I have two horses of my own and love to go riding. It's my addiction. I get my fix in my yard," she says. Her horses are also much-photographed (as is her yellow Labrador, who poses for all the Christmas cards) and have made the cover of Horse News twice.
Running for his life
Rutgers head athletic trainer Donald Kessler was getting out of the Sonny Werblin pool after finishing his once-a-week, 2,000-meter swim back in 1994 when he was stricken with a heart attack at the age of 46.
He had always kept himself in shape, so after two angioplasties he was able to continue helping athletes not only at Rutgers but also during the Boston Marathon. He had a loftier goal in mind, however -- to run the marathon himself and do it in under four hours.
Having been an avid runner, he was determined to get back to a high level of fitness after the heart attack. "And every year, as I helped out at the finish line, I knew that I could run the course someday."
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