SSR HAS A Winner!! New SSR Icon!

[pkgman]

I saw it when we checked in on May 5 (first trip home). I assumed it would have always been in that location since opening.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

There are also Hidden Mickeys (four, I think) in the sculpture.

Yes! We noticed those last week. The one on the blanket and on the jockey's back are the most noticable.

This statue is beautiful! Thanks for posting the pics...unfortunately, I missed getting a photo of it last week.

 

[jenelope]

There was a dedication on Thursday, May 18th and the artist, Gwen Reardon was present. I had to meet a friend in one of the parks, so I had to miss it, but I did get a beautiful keepsake collage with detail pictures of the sculpture. One of them clearly shows one of the hidden Mickeys, in the bridle.

One of the resort employees told me that the number 7 does refer to SSR being the seventh DVC resort. He said that it appears in a number of places in the resort. So I guess I won't just be looking for hidden Mickeys on my next trip- I'll be looking for hidden 7s!

 

[LUVMICKEY]

The sculpture is beautiful. We'll be looking for the Hidden Mickey's.

Michele

 

[DisneyFreaks]

What a gorgeous sculpture for SSR's icon. And Hidden Mickeys too! I cannot wait to see it. Thanks for posting the pictures.

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

I saw it on May 13, did not realize that it was brand new!

Debbie

 

[DrTomorrow]

Now I can't see one of these pictures without thinking of the horse as "DVCee Biscuit"!

 

[tmt martins]

I know we were brought up around the tracks .DW's father was a jockey right around the time we meet .But DF had many friends that were involved as trainers and so forth.

DB had a very buzy weekend with the Preekness and what happened to BOLARO .He is an on-air switcher on the night shift for MAGNA that runs a few of the tracks here and also does Most of the in-house (some goes to places like ESPN) camera work as well around the barns.

Maybe this is another reason why I feel so comfortable around the SSR when we visited.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I know we were brought up around the tracks .DW's father was a jockey right around the time we meet .But DF had many friends that were involved as trainers and so forth.

DB had a very buzy weekend with the Preekness and what happened to BOLARO .He is an on-air switcher on the night shift for MAGNA that runs a few of the tracks here and also does Most of the in-house (some goes to places like ESPN) camera work as well around the barns.

Maybe this is another reason why I feel so comfortable around the SSR when we visited.

tmt, well maybe you can help me! How long is a furlong? We are headed to SSR in 7 days and they have posts marked by furlong and Im from cowtown, not horsetown! I even asked our Carriage Horse driver, and he didnt know!

Now I can't see one of these pictures without thinking of the horse as "DVCee Biscuit"!

Ok Doc! It's official! The horses name is Cee Biscuit! LOL! Thank you to KLEONARD for the winning submission!

Debbie, thank you for adding the photos!! Those are great and look at that face!! AWESOME! And I see the Hidden Mickey in the Bridle!

There was a dedication on Thursday, May 18th and the artist, Gwen Reardon was present. I had to meet a friend in one of the parks, so I had to miss it, but I did get a beautiful keepsake collage with detail pictures of the sculpture. One of them clearly shows one of the hidden Mickeys, in the bridle.

One of the resort employees told me that the number 7 does refer to SSR being the seventh DVC resort. He said that it appears in a number of places in the resort. So I guess I won't just be looking for hidden Mickeys on my next trip- I'll be looking for hidden 7s!

Jenelope, for the dedication, did they move Cee Biscuit to his final home? Does your collage say how long he took to create? During Member Homecoming, they had the artist that does all the race art around the resort (lots of his pieces in the laundry rooms) and we were able to meet him. I would have loved to meet Ms. Reardon! You can tell she really loves her work!

 

[tmt martins]

I know it's 8 furlongs in a mile and I think about 650 ft. or so.

 

[jenelope]

Jenelope, for the dedication, did they move Cee Biscuit to his final home? Does your collage say how long he took to create? During Member Homecoming, they had the artist that does all the race art around the resort (lots of his pieces in the laundry rooms) and we were able to meet him. I would have loved to meet Ms. Reardon! You can tell she really loves her work!

Nope, our DVCee Biscuit was still in the same space, on the sidewalk just outside the Carriage House. When I walked by on Friday there was the addition of the kind of floral wreath you usually see in the winner's circle at a horserace. It was a nice touch. The collage doesn't have any printed information other than the sculpture's title and the artist's name. It did seem like they could have put some information on the back, such as an artist bio and some background on the sculpture. The collage was really just a series of close-ups surrounding a picture of the whole sculpture. They had a stack of the collages at Artist's Pallette on Friday morning, but there were considerably fewer that afternoon.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Thanks Jenelope.

I googled Gwen Reardon and found her website.

About Gwen Reardon ...

If there was one thing young Gwen Reardon knew with great certainty, she wanted to ride horses. They were a part of her life from birth, her father was a horse trainer and equitation instructor. Her days would start with talking her father into taking her with him to the stable, hoping she would get to ride. Usually the agreement was that she had to stay where he put her and not bother him while he was working horses and teaching customers. On a good day she would get to ride about noon; there would be horses made of mounded shavings, tanbark or just dirt, manes and tails of straw or hay, depending on the bale she had been told to wait on and where the base was. Her determination to ride paid off when at age five; Gwen became the state equitation champion. She grew to prominence with winning rides at major shows including the being the youngest competitor to win the ladies championship at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Showing horses consists of a lot of "hurry up and wait"; the waiting she filled with drawings on her show programs. Surrounded by impressive subjects representing many different breeds, she developed her skills. While not in the show ring, art museums and fine art galleries were her haunts. It followed that her program drawings would become sought after, leading to a demand for her paintings. She developed a habit of making small wax sculptures that she used in the composition of her paintings. Gwen discovered the technique after reading that Charles Russell had used it. While she did not cast any of these early wax sculptures, there was one for every painting. Wax evolved to clay and clients wanted the sculptures.

She has received many awards for the quality of her work. Gwen is a Full Member and currently serves on the Board of the American Academy of Equine Art, Inc. She lives outside of Lexington, Kentucky on a small farm where she continues to ride and enjoy her horses.


The most publicly visible collection of Gwen Reardon's work is in Lexington, Kentucky's downtown Thoroughbred Park. The park, is a tribute to the thoroughbred race horse, and features thirteen scuptures. Seven life size bronze race horses and jockeys rush dramatically to the finsih line. Also in the park are brood mares and foals and the great stallion Lexington.

 

[LauraAnn630]

Thats cool! Cant wait to find the hidden Mickeys with the kids!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

All the detail work on this piece is fabulous! The horse actually looks like it just came across the finish line with veins popping, muscles rippling, and nostrils flared (probably the same way I'm going to look wandering around the parks during our visit in the August heat!) I think these features look better on DVC-biscuit than they will on me.

Honestly, I can't wait to check it out in person. Just hope I don't get any strange looks trying to find Hidden Mickey's in any out-of-the-way places!

 

[sgtpet]

I was there in October 2006. It was completed prior to my arrival.

 

[Cee]

I can't wait to have my picture taken with it!