Olympic Sculpture: Cross-country “Horses” at Auction

Two of the most famous horses from the London Olympics equestrian events are for sale. No, not Uthopia and Valegro. Not jumpers Wonder Boy or Vindicat W. They’re cross-country horses who never made a wrong move out there on the course. And either one would surely have won the gold medal for “best shod” if there had been one. They never flinched as horse after horse jumped between them. There was no manure to scoop, no feed buckets to tend, no hay bags to hang, no tack to clean. London fine art auction house Christie’s will offer Olympic fans and equestrian enthusiasts the ultimate memorabilia collecting opportunity, when the hammer drops on a pair of life-size models of jumping horses by British?sculptor Tom Hill. The now-iconic jumping horses were displayed on the Greenwich Park cross-country course for the eventing portion of the London 2012 Olympic Games. To be sold as a pair, the horses are expected to fetch between ?50,000 and ?80,000 (between $80,000 and $130,000 in US Dollars) when the bidding opens on 20 November 2012. The sculptures feature within Christie?s November?Interiors ? Style & Spirit?auction, a regular sale format presenting connoisseurs, interiors designers and private collectors with the chance to buy wonderfully quirky, interesting and decorative objects for the home ? from carpets, to lighting, furniture, pictures and decorative pieces. Tom Hill?s Jumping Horses are formed of between 500-600?reclaimed horseshoes each, and took around three months to?create. Standing at over three meters high and weighing 300kg (over 650 pounds) each,?they featured beside the final fence, Obstacle Number 28, during the Olympics. After the cross-country ended, the horses were?moved to the front of the Queen’s House in Greenwich Park for the?remainder of the Olympics. Since the Olympics the horses have been exhibited at Land Rover Burghley?Horse Trials and will also be on preview exhibition at Ascot?Racecourse for QIPCO British Champions Day on 20 October 2012. The full content of the auction will be on exhibition at Christie?s?South Kensington, London from 17-20 November.

They were the two best-shod horses at the Olympics…and now Christie’s auction house is offering them for sale.
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One of Tom Hill’s horseshoe horses.

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Olympic Sculpture: Cross-country “Horses” at Auction

Two of the most famous horses from the London Olympics equestrian events are for sale. No, not Uthopia and Valegro. Not jumpers Wonder Boy or Vindicat W. They’re cross-country horses who never made a wrong move out there on the course. And either one would surely have won the gold medal for “best shod” if there had been one. They never flinched as horse after horse jumped between them. There was no manure to scoop, no feed buckets to tend, no hay bags to hang, no tack to clean. London fine art auction house Christie’s will offer Olympic fans and equestrian enthusiasts the ultimate memorabilia collecting opportunity, when the hammer drops on a pair of life-size models of jumping horses by British?sculptor Tom Hill. The now-iconic jumping horses were displayed on the Greenwich Park cross-country course for the eventing portion of the London 2012 Olympic Games. To be sold as a pair, the horses are expected to fetch between ?50,000 and ?80,000 (between $80,000 and $130,000 in US Dollars) when the bidding opens on 20 November 2012. The sculptures feature within Christie?s November?Interiors ? Style & Spirit?auction, a regular sale format presenting connoisseurs, interiors designers and private collectors with the chance to buy wonderfully quirky, interesting and decorative objects for the home ? from carpets, to lighting, furniture, pictures and decorative pieces. Tom Hill?s Jumping Horses are formed of between 500-600?reclaimed horseshoes each, and took around three months to?create. Standing at over three meters high and weighing 300kg (over 650 pounds) each,?they featured beside the final fence, Obstacle Number 28, during the Olympics. After the cross-country ended, the horses were?moved to the front of the Queen’s House in Greenwich Park for the?remainder of the Olympics. Since the Olympics the horses have been exhibited at Land Rover Burghley?Horse Trials and will also be on preview exhibition at Ascot?Racecourse for QIPCO British Champions Day on 20 October 2012. The full content of the auction will be on exhibition at Christie?s?South Kensington, London from 17-20 November.

They were the two best-shod horses at the Olympics…and now Christie’s auction house is offering them for sale.
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One of Tom Hill’s horseshoe horses.

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