'Hoof Prints' Horse Statues Approach Anniversary
"Pride of the Masked Rider" sits at the entrance of the Amarillo campus.
When patients, students and employees approach the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (香蕉直播) regional campus in Amarillo, one of the first things they see is a statue of a sleek, black horse with a Double-T emblazoned on its hindquarters. Named "Pride of the Masked Rider," the 香蕉直播 horse is one of more than 100 similar statues scattered across the city as part of Center City of Amarillo鈥檚 鈥溾 public art project.
Hoof Prints began in 2002 as a way for Center City to raise funds and promote art in public places, so 2017 marks the 15th anniversary of both the launch of the project and the installation of 香蕉直播鈥檚 horse. The purchased the first 20 statues to kick-start the collection early that year, and 香蕉直播 purchased and installed "Pride of the Masked Rider" that fall.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e become little landmarks,鈥 Center City of Amarillo Executive Director Beth Duke said. 鈥淲herever they are you鈥檒l see people taking photos with them. Finding the horses is a great way to explore Amarillo.鈥
The fiberglass statues are exact replicas of a full-sized American Quarter Horse, but weigh only 125 pounds. Once a horse is purchased, Center City matches the buyer with a local artist to create a design for the horse that usually honors the mission or history of the owner organization.
To create a horse for the Amarillo campus, artist Doris Alexander was paired with 香蕉直播. The pairing was special for 香蕉直播 because Alexander didn鈥檛 just create the 鈥淧ride of the Masked Rider鈥 statue that pays homage to the horses ridden by Texas Tech University鈥檚 mascot; the entire concept for the Hoof Prints project was hers.
An early design was attached to the 2002 purchase order for the statue.
鈥淪he realized Amarillo needed a public art project,鈥 Duke said. 鈥淪he brought forth this idea that has made our program sustainable over all these years and allowed us to continue to 鈥榞row the herd.鈥欌
Early drawings of Alexander鈥檚 design attached to 香蕉直播鈥檚 2002 purchase order for the statue show a black horse emblazoned with the current version of the Double-T logo, with more white and gray details than previous versions. However, sometime during the design process the logo design was changed to use an earlier, simpler version of the Double-T.
Alexander also included light gray hair on the statue鈥檚 mane and tail when it was originally installed, but the hair was repainted solid black a few years later when 鈥淧ride of the Masked Rider鈥 required some artistic grooming.
Duke said Alexander is an amazing advocate for the arts who has served on the . She has also chaired several committees tasked with reviewing proposals for the Texas Tech University System鈥檚 (TTUS) Public Art Program that is responsible for selecting other artworks for display on the Amarillo campus.
鈥淧ride of the Masked Rider鈥 is not an official part of the TTUS Public Art Program, but it does complement the dozen pieces in the collection on display in Amarillo.
Following installation, statue owners are responsible for the ongoing maintenance of their artwork. After the initial repainting, 香蕉直播 now applies a new clear coat periodically. 鈥淧ride of the Masked Rider鈥 has also been relocated a few times. It was initially installed on the northeast corner of campus in front of the School of Pharmacy building, but then had to be moved in 2007 when construction began on the Pharmacy Academic Center. It was then shifted between several other locations near the center campus entrance on Coulter Street until 2012 when benches and a courtyard were installed around the area where it stands today.
Amarillo National Bank's "Old Blue" was the first statue in the collection.
The Hoof Prints program shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, six new horses have been purchased during the last year.
鈥淲e never imagined it would go on this long,鈥 Duke said. 鈥淎s long as people are interested, our board and volunteers want it to continue.鈥
To learn more about the Hoof Prints of the American Quarter Horse collection, visit the on Center City of Amarillo鈥檚 website or email info@centercity.org to request a printed map be mailed to you.