06/05/07 Leave it to Texas

Leave it to Texas, I'm Jeff Keane and I'll be right back on how the Lone Star State is once again living up to it's larger than life reputation. It's big, it's beautiful and it's bronze, and it calls El Paso Texas home, here's Becky with more on this historical monument. Standing at nearly forty feet tall, this ten-ton bronze marvel portrays a brilliant Andalusian stallion and his Mexican Conquistador rearing to go and is now considered to be the world's largest equestrian bronze figure. This memorial is part of a whole series of commissions meant to celebrate the rich history of El Paso's past. The massive statue made up of more than four hundred pieces took nearly an entire decade for artist John Houser to complete. I bet those ten years cost the city and it's resident's a pretty penny. No doubt, the remarkable size of the bronze was not a cheap endeavor Jeff, but the eight-year adventure of modeling and enlarging the piece was made possible through major fundraising support from the community. Set in it's final resting place on a massive concrete foundation at the El Paso International Airport the larger than life sculpture aptly name "The Equestrian" was formally dedicated to the city April 21st of this year. Forever demonstrating the impact that horses have had in the development of the west. Not only the early development of the west, but also the continued development, success and mystique of our American West. Along with Becky, I'm Jeff Keane