Darby Day - Jocky Detail By Commission Sold To Kaitlin

I call this piece Derby Day after that most British of holidays celebrating the sport of kings. While man has been testing the qualities of one horse against another since first capturing two, the British have elevated the contest with pageantry as only they can. I will try to capture some of that color & fun with this piece. There is a great tradition of sporting art in Britain. Especially equine art. There are countless portraits of Derby winners with jockeys atop. Often these paintings included the proud owner & family members as well. These static portraits are all very well (although the early ones depicted the horse form in greatly exaggerated terms with very small heads, bulging muscles & long tapering legs). However, the pictures depicting the actual racing horses look very odd. No one knew exactly how a horse galloped. All the animals are depicted in the same way. Both fore & rear legs are splayed out, the horse off the ground. This is the attitude my racer will be in. My racer here is modeled after an actual Derby winner called Kettledrum. His image was derived from just one of those protraits I mentioned above. He races above his jockey with the help of a ball bearing movement inside his body. He is 37' from fore hoove to rear hoove & 26 from base to saddle. As always, my Rocking R brand adorns the underside of the base. I hope you feel as I do, that in Derby Day I have brought home a winner. Darby Day - Jocky Detail By Commission Sold To Kaitlin