Born in 1954 in Cynthiana, Kentucky, John Stephen Hockensmith studied art and photography at Georgetown College in Kentucky. He began his career in 1975, working for the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a photographer. After gaining training and experience from state government, Hockensmith started an independent photography business in 1979 in Georgetown, opening a studio and art gallery.

Throughout the 1980s, he pursued fine arts and exhibited paintings, sculptures and photographs. In 1986, he had his first one-man exhibit of paintings at the Headley-Whitney Museum in Lexington, Kentucky.

Beginning in 1994, Hockensmith focused his artistic career on equine themes. From the mid-1990s to the present, he has published, exhibited and distributed fine equine art throughout the United States and in other countries around the world. Since 2000, he has been contracted by Churchill Downs to produce the official Kentucky Derby Winner's Print and Winner's Collection.

In 2004, Hockensmith’s one-man exhibition at the International Museum of the Horse at the Kentucky Horse Park, called Rare Breeds: from Figurative to Abstract, generated international critical acclaim. In 2006, he has completed another major exhibition for the International Museum of the Horse on Gypsy horses and the Appleby Horse Fair. This exhibit was accompanied by his first book, Gypsy Horses and the Travelers' Way, a showcase of his photography, prose and poetry inspired by his travels with Romani Gypsies across northern England.

Among Hockensmith's many commercial clients are: Toyota of North America, Toyota Manufacturing Kentucky, Lexmark, Universal Studios, The Kentucky Horse Park, Keeneland, Churchill Downs and the Office of the Governor of Kentucky. Many Fine Art collectors and horse lovers own and collect John S. Hockensmith's work both nationally and internationally.