July, 8th 2019.
A date photographer Eric Hardesty will never forget.
Hardesty was doing something he’d done countless times before: making the drive home from a horse show in Ludington, Michigan.
Behind his GMC Denali pickup rolled a massive 45-foot toy hauler.
Ahead of him?
U.S. 31 and a bridge.
Then, in an instant, the road disappeared beneath him.
There was a violent impact.
His camper skidded sideways across a bridge, and then came the nightmare scenario.
His truck plunged 20 to 25 feet off the bridge, crashing straight down to the highway below.
Somehow, in the middle of the chaos, Hardesty remembers one overwhelming thought: his dogs.
“I was diving toward the seat to bear hug my Aussiedoodles,” he recalled.
Against all odds, Eric Hardesty and his dogs survived.
The veteran photographer, known throughout the horse industry and increasingly recognized for his extraordinary behind-the-scenes work with rock bands including 3 Doors Down and Elvis Monroe, walked away from a crash that could have easily taken his life.
The accident left him with a fractured C2 vertebra in his neck, a severe concussion, cuts, bruises, and missing memories from the violent plunge that sent his truck and camper tumbling down.
For more than three decades, Hardesty has lived his life behind a camera.
In the horse world, he became known for capturing moments most people miss — the tension before competition, the elegance of motion, the split-second expressions between rider and horse.
His company, Excalibur Photography and Advertising, built a loyal following across the equestrian industry.
But later, his following would expand into rock and roll.
It all started in Las Vegas while working with the band Elvis Monroe.
“That was the first band I started working with as a photographer,” Hardesty recalled. “They went on tour with Three Doors Down in 2018 for their Back Porch Acoustic shows.”
Hardesty traveled with the bands throughout the Upper Midwest, capturing world-class images of performances and life on the road.
That tour would also lead to a friendship that meant a great deal to him.
Backstage With 3 Doors Down
Hardesty remembers exactly how he first connected with 3 Doors Down frontman Brad Arnold.
“We were introduced in Greensburg,” he said. “I mentioned that I actually knew his wife from the horse shows.”
Arnold immediately lit up.
“He flipped out and said, ‘Have a seat.’”
The two bonded instantly over horses, photography, and life beyond music.
Hardesty had photographed Arnold’s wife, Jennifer, years earlier at Palomino horse events in Tunica, Mississippi.
“We knew she was the wife of somebody in a band,” Hardesty told me. “Then we saw the custom leather breastplate on her horse saddle with the Superman 3DD logo engraved into it.”
From there, the friendship grew naturally.
Hardesty described Brad and Jennifer as grounded, humble people despite the fame surrounding them.
“Very down to earth,” he said. “Very humble. He’d give you the shirt off his back.”
The connection mattered deeply to Hardesty.
He even kept memorabilia from the tour carefully preserved on his Pelican camera case, credential stickers, dates, and lots of memories.
One date in particular still haunts him.
“The one was February 7th, 2018,” Hardesty said quietly. “And it just happened to be the day we lost Brad eight years later.”
Hardesty recently spent time in Nashville shooting alongside the team from Fourth Door Media, capturing images of 3 Doors Down guitarist Chet Roberts as he collaborated with fellow artists during a recording session at a Nashville-area studio.
His work from that day will be featured on social media and likely in an upcoming documentary featuring Roberts and other 3 Doors Down members titled Unbreakable.
It’s safe to say that title fits Hardesty, too.
Thank God you survived that accident. How traumatizing that must have been. I was in a near fatal crash myself and it haunts me to this day. Looking forward to seeing you work and envious that you got to spend time with Brad and Jen 💕