THE SCULPTURE...
Q: How did you begin the sculpting process?
KITTY: The first step was to gather as many reference photo's as we could and read about Secretariat, what was his personality, etc. It is important for me to understand how a horse is, how he thinks, behaves. What was he like as a foal? How did his handlers feel about him? I need to get to know an animal before I can sculpt it well. Next was to study his photo's with Caroline. She has a background with Thoroughbreds and knows what qualities make a good racehorse. We needed to find out what made him different. I saw powerful hindquarters, a good strong back and straight hind legs which I refer to as "cat legs." They can reach well under his body and propel him with no wasted motion. We have read that his heart was larger than normal, the better to pump all that oxygen-rich blood to his supremely developed muscles. He also has a very dainty head for a stallion and his mane has a wee cowlick just behind his ears - an unruly bit of hair - I love it! A fun "quirk" in an otherwise perfect running machine. I am really enjoying the sculpting process. I have already discovered a few things about muscle masses from him, how they work at different speeds in a horse...very interesting...very challenging. Again, this is such a great honor and thrill to be working on this sculpture. I wish I could have seen him in the flesh.
CAROLINE: The web site secretariat.com was a huge help. Leonard suggested a great book, "Secretariat" by Ramie Wolfe. Kitty and I both began researching his form, conformation and characteristics. There are so many unique dynamics to Secretariat, he had the perfect blend of traits, it's no wonder he could do what he did! The first thing I noticed was his beautiful long neck. At first it appears short, but it's not! What deceives the eye is a built-in "Super-Charger," which is a windpipe that is large and well formed. He also has a large deep chest. His chest when viewed from the side looks almost twice as large (deep) as most other Thoroughbreds. This means the bottom part of his neck ties into his chest higher, hence the illusion. (This is my interpretation). We loved the insight the book gave us into his personality. What a great horse, full of confidence and with just the right amount of fire. I hope we have captured some of his "essence" in this piece. When Kitty had him just blocked out in clay I thought it already looked like him! We both said, "Wow! He's built himself." As Kitty progressed he started to come to life so much that I kept expecting to hear thundering hoof beats and to see him racing out of her shop! What a magnificent horse and what an honor to be a part of paying tribute to him!
