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A life-size wooden replica of a horse from the Anglesey Riding Centre will be spending the month of August on show at a sculptural showcase and extravaganza event in Nottinghamshire.
Created by Simon O’Rourke, managing director of Tree Carving, the sculpture of Dexter the horse is taking pride of place at the Sculpture in the Sanctuary exhibition in Southwell, Nottinghamshire.
The sculpture of 12-year-old gelding Dexter, who was rescued from neglect and brought up at the centre, is making its latest stop on a UK-wide tour.
In recent months the life-size exhibit has also appeared at the prestigious Bolesworth International, Woodfest in Caerwys and The Big Art Show, Shrewsbury
Displaying alongside the horse will be a stunning Dragon’s mouth archway made by Simon at Woodfest.
Simon said: “The horse took me more than 60 hours to create and is one of my finest works of art. It garners a lot of attention on social media when we publish posts about it so I know it’s popular, too.
“It’s fantastic to have exhibited him at several high-profile events, culminating in spending the last month of summer at the Sculpture in the Sanctuary.
“It’s a privilege to have been asked to showcase both the horse and the dragon mouth archway at the event.”
Sculpture in the Sanctuary exhibits the finest hand-crafted works by artists from all over the UK, and showcases their pieces in its wonderful nine acre Swan Sanctuary with five lakes.
Dexter is a firm favourite among staff and customers and John Knock, owner of the centre, is over the moon that a life-size model of Dexter is touring the UK.
He said: “Dexter has an incredibly sad history following years of neglect, and it's heart-warming to see him re-created so wonderfully by Simon.
“A lady from Dolgellau rescued him and brought him back to health and he became a part of the team here at the centre a few years ago.
“I’m over the moon that he is being seen throughout the UK.”
Simon added: “There was a lot of emotion involved in creating this piece because of Dexter’s back story.
“I wanted to find a horse that I liked the look of and could clearly see the muscle structure. Dexter fitted the bill perfectly.
“He’s an absolutely gorgeous horse and I hope those who know Dexter will see the likeness in my creation.”
To see a time-lapse video of the horse being made visit www.treecarving.co.uk. For more information about the riding centre visit www.angleseyridingcentre.co.uk.
