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“When I remember, though only through report, the seas of pristine grass that my forefathers rode upon while the flowing vitality and grace of wild horses were still inherent properties of the earth, I know – at least during some whiles of happiness – that a thing of beauty will never pass into nothingness.” -J. Frank Dobie |
The Mustangs of Las Colinas harness the beauty and spirit of the animals that more than any other breed symbolizes the freedom of the American West. Descendants of escapees from the slavery of Spanish Conquistadors, the mustang ponies altered the culture of the American Indian, helped build a nation, and were then bred to extinction.
“If I have idealized the horse, I have not overestimated his importance in social history: the climax of horse riding in America was the climax of free enterprise of the frontier kind,” wrote J. Frank Dobie in his introduction to his 1934 tome The Mustangs. ”
“The more machinery man gets, the more
machined he is. When the traveler got off a horse and into a machine, the tempo of his mind as well as of his locomotion changed.”
Dobie worried that his collection of stories would fail to capture the essence of the wild horses which once grazed by the thousands across the Texas plains. In the modern world it has largely been left to artists and sculptors to relay the vitality and daring of the mustang.
In a plaza the size of two football fields and surrounded on three sides by tall office buildings, the Mustangs of Las Colinas appear to be running across a stream. The lead stallion followed by a young stallion, five mares, and two colts are one and a half times life size. The open plaza gives the feel of the Texas prairie while fountains splashing water at the statues’ feet gives the appearance of motion. It all combines for an inspiring work of art that has become one of Texas’ most famous public treasures.
The journey to the Mustangs’ unveiling on September 25, 1984 took nearly eight years. The project began as the Carpenter family was under increasing pressure from urban sprawl radiating from Dallas to develop the ranch that had been in the family since 1928.
In 1974, Ben Carpenter commissioned a master plan for a community that was to encompass the family’s Ranchito de Las Colinas (“little ranch of the hills”). Included in the plan was the three Williams Towers surrounding the Texas pink granite-paved plaza.
Internationally renowned wildlife sculptor Robert Glen was selected to create the band of mustangs. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Glen became one of the preeminent African wildlife sculptors after studying art and taxidermy in the United States.
In order to get a true representation of the Spanish horses, Glen studied the magnificent beasts of southern Spain. He molded 47 working models at 1/8 life-size before selecting the nine that would become two-ton bronze statues. From Glen’s Nairobi studio half life-size final designs were shipped to an English foundry for the arduous task of making the larger-than-life renditions.
As the largest equestrian sculpture in the world, the Mustangs of Las Colinas are the centerpiece of a public plaza that is used for concerts, plays, and recreation. The community that the Carpenter family built around a 125-acre lake is almost the opposite of what the wild mustangs represent.
In Irving, between the DFW International Airport and Texas Stadium at TX114 (John W. Carpenter Freeway) and O’Connor Road, Las Colinas is a planned community of country clubs, homes, high rise apartments, and office buildings. Shops and restaurants fill the first floors of many of the buildings linked by flower-lined avenues and water taxis that ply Mandalay canals between the giant steel and glass monuments to the current victors of the evolution of the earth.
There is a small museum and gift shop on the first floor of the west Williams Tower. The exhibit documents the construction process of the horses as well as displaying examples of Glen’s African wildlife sculptures. A 20-minute video is shown on the hour and half-hour. The exhibit is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am-6pm (972/869-9047). Public parking is in the garage west of the plaza ($2 per hour).
While you’re in the area of Las Colinas and if you enjoy the aesthetic qualities of outdoor art, check out the Bluebonnet Hill Cows (above) a few blocks east of Las Colinas on the north side of TX114 at Rochelle Boulevard. Carved of Italian stone in 1985 by Texan Harold Clayton, the five bovines occupy a small park overlooking the freeway.
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Coming up this weekend…
Grape Stomp at Becker Vineyards outside of Stonewall celebrates the end of the harvest season, Aug. 29-30. 830/644-2681.
Courthouse Trade Days in Gonzales combines a farmers market and garage sale with a weekend party and historic homes tour, Aug. 29. 830/672-6532.
Hot Sauce Festival sponsored by The Austin Chronicle in Waterloo Park offers a day of good food and music, Aug. 30. 512/451-3802.
Coming up…
Win a vacation to exotic lands at Retama Park Race Track. On Sundays through Oct.11 the race track north of San Antonio will be giving away five cruise packages to patrons. 210/651-7000.
Murder on the DisOriented Express rides the Texas State Railroad with the entertainment of a murder mystery play. Package includes hotel in Palestine, dinner, play and train ride, and entertainment. Oct. 19. 817/731-8551.
Celebrity judges to Chilympiad must register by Sept. 1. If you’d like to judge at the San Marcos chili cookoff on Sept. 19, send your name, address, phone number, and a brief description of your qualifications (being an avid reader of “Day Trips” is good enough) to Kim Dvorak, 1607-A Waterloo Trail, Austin 78704 or chilijudge@aol.com
This article appears in August 28 • 1998 and August 28 • 1998 (Cover).
