Equestrian Federation
Adelaide, South Australia
The Location
In May 2025, Matt brought The Good of the Hive to an entirely new kind of canvas — the Adelaide Equestrian Festival, held in the heart of the Adelaide Park Lands, South Australia. Serving as Artist in Residence, Willey was commissioned to create a unique artistic impression for a Cross Country jump on the Adelaide International 5-Star course, one of only seven CCI5* events in the world, as a showpiece during the RB Sellars Cross Country Day. The resulting obstacle — Fence 24, known as the Beehives — featured four pillars, two on each side, inspired by Adelaide architecture with mock stone edging and trim, each side hand-painted by Willey as part of The Good of the Hive.
Scroll through the photo gallery below to view images from the project.
Why Honey Bees?
The commission required him to think in an entirely new way: he had never painted a jump before and had many questions, including whether his bees might unsettle the horses and what effect bold black color contrasts might have on a horse’s perception of depth as it approached the fence at speed — leaning on course designer Mike Etherington-Smith and his builders for guidance.
Willey’s finished piece was also showcased in the Gillian Rolton Main Arena during the ATCO Show Jumping, and festival attendees had the opportunity to engage with him in a Q&A session about The Good of the Hive and the inspiration behind his work.
True to his mission, Willey saw the unexpected pairing of bees and equestrian sport not as a mismatch but as an opportunity: he explained that he looks for projects that bring two seemingly unrelated things together, because the moment someone asks “why bees at a jump?” — they are already in exactly the state of curiosity he wants to create. The Good of the Hive is about resonance, connection and curiosity through art, conversation and bees. This project checked every “box.”
