They donât eat anything, no fenced pastures are necessary â and theyâre completely weatherproof.
Downtown shoppers and joggers are already well-acquainted with the Painted Ponies who have graced Broad Street for the last two months. Local artists have poured their creative talents into each of the life-size fiberglass horse sculptures, which represent an array of local traditions from the literary and golfing to the patriotic.
Theyâll be sold on Saturday in a live auction to benefit the Carolina Horse Park Foundation. The Carolina Horse Park is a 315-acre, nationally-recognized competition venue located in nearby Hoke County. Itâs become the hub of equestrian activity in the Sandhills since its establishment in 1998.
Donald Ross, Peggy Kirk Bell and Payne Stewart will soon grace Broad Street in downtown Southern Pines. Their portraits, carefully painted on the side of a life-size horse sculpture, are part of the 2021 Painted Ponies Art Walk set to begin this coming week.
âItâs been a fun challenge,â said Dan Dreyer who was commissioned by the local Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) for the work titled, appropriately, âHome of American Golf.â When heâs not painting, Dreyer works as a fulltime âdestination storytellerâ and videographer for the CVB, promoting tourism for the area.
âThe transitions are my favorite parts,â said Dreyer, who is in talks with the Design Market on N.C. 5 to open a small studio/gallery space. âI wanted the painting to exist on the horse, not look like it was a painting stuck on the side of it.â