L'ormarins Queen's Plate

On Thursday, 25 February, guests gathered at the simple and elegant Portofino restaurant in Green Point, Cape Town, for the highly anticipated L'Ormarins Moment photographic competition winner announcement. Art, beauty, innovation and reminiscence were encapsulated through the top ten photographs on display.

The L'Ormarins Moment was initiated in order to align the prestigious L'Ormarins Queen's Plate with that of art - and photography is one of the most accessible forms of art to South Africans and the world alike. It was essential that all images entered were shot at the L'Ormarins Queen's Plate 2010 event.

Amateurs and professional photographers were encouraged to capture the essence of the stylish historical event. Judges were looking for the photograph that conveyed a story and that encapsulated the ultimate L'Ormarins Moment - that precise point in the photograph where an action achieves its climax. The traditional and elegant blue and white dress code of L'Ormarins Queen's Plate was another element that the panel was looking for.

Following a thorough judging process, the panel narrowed down the entries to 10 finalists from which they selected an overall winner as well as a 1st and 2nd runner up. From vibrant grab shots of the competing horses to glamorous social spreads, the top 3 winning photographs most accurately summarised the social event of the year.

Morne van Zyl scooped the title with his winning photograph of a thoroughbred grey horse. Not only did Morne walk away with the 2nd runner up and winner title; he also had another photograph in the top ten and won the ultimate prize, a LEICA D-Lux 4 Camera courtesy of LEICA.

There were plenty of highlights from this year's L'Ormarins Queen's Plate from the record breaking 4th consecutive win of Pocket Power to the impressive A-list guests such as Leanne Liebenberg, Roxy Louw and Jo-Anne Strauss and the outstanding live entertainment by Just Jinjer, Goldfish, Shuan Duvet and Gang of Instrumentals.

If this wasn't enough to capture the photographers' attention there was an impressive display of classic vintage cars, fine wine and a Best dressed and Best Hat competition where guests were able to showcase their sophistication.