Horsetails
Smarty Jones
![[Picture]](images/art/_DSC6321.jpg)
Foaled in 2001, Smarty Jones won eight out of nine starts in his career, including the Kentucky Derby and a landslide 11½ length Preakness win, breaking a record that had been in place since 1875. Smarty Jones' only loss was his second place finish in the Belmont Stakes, denying him the Triple Crown. He was named the 2004 Eclipse Champion Three-Year-Old Male, and then retired in 2005 to Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Kentucky, who generously donated tail hairs.
Three Chimneys Farm
Erika Strecker & Tony Higdon
A husband and wife team working out of Lexington, Kentucky, Erika Strecker and Tony Higdon specialize in large-scale public art pieces. Strecker received her Bachelor of Arts from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and her Master of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, receiving additional artistic training as a Core Student in the Fellowship Program at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. Higdon received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Kentucky, with graduate studies in sculpture at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Their many sculptures are displayed in prominent public locations in Kentucky, Florida, and Wyoming. Higdon and Strecker's piece honoring Smarty Jones incorporates hand-forged damascus steel parts and copper roses, paying tribute to Smarty Jones' tenacity and racing agility in his run for the roses.
About the Project
Fifty-two artists from around the country have been chosen and each given small replicas of a violin and bow. Each artist has been assigned an unforgettable, beloved horse and has created a work of art. Artists have worked with paint, glass, metal, and other mediums. Their only charge was to embrace either the image or spirit of their horse. Horses include well-known Thoroughbreds, as well as other breeds represented in the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™.
Each piece will be on display at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™. During the Games, a silent auction will take place, with all proceeds go to the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra’s Partners in Education, a program benefiting the children in high-risk areas of Kentucky through music education.
Please take the time to enjoy our art gallery (link to gallery), learn more about our special events (link to special events), and shop in our retail area for your very own HORSETAILS® 2010 merchandise. If you have questions about the project or would like more information, please contact us.
The Presentation
Each completed work of art is professionally mounted on linen mat board and framed in an antique black wooden slant-top shadow box. Framed by Lexington’s premiere sporting arts framer, the finished size measures 13.25" x 17".
