Horses in Art Magazine - Art for the Horse Lover

Sculptor and Horsewoman Pat Roberts

Javelina Havoc – Bronze by Pat Roberts
For a sculptor of horses, Pat Roberts lives in an ideal environment. On her horse ranch in Santa Ynez, California, she is immersed in the horse world and in the business of training horses with her husband and horse trainer, Monty Roberts. Few people have been involved with as many different disciplines of the horse training world as Pat and Monty Roberts including racehorses, cutting and reining horses, and wild horses. Pat is also an accomplished horsewoman and her respect and intimate knowledge of the equine world is apparent in all her work.

The discussions about horse conformation, musculature, movement, and behaviors are common dinner conversation at the Roberts’ home. While discussing these very subjects one evening and brain storming about creating new sculpture, Monty had a thought. “What if a crazy cowboy on a whim got the idea to rope a wild javelina and what would happen if he did?” Pat started to think through this concept and its artistic challenges, and it evolved into the sculpture Javelina Havoc.

Pat remarks, “Javelinas live in the southwest in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. It was a lot of fun studying photos of javelinas and engineering the piece so that the horse could have the appearance of flying through the air as he tried to get away from the scary creature his irresponsible rider had roped. You can just imagine where the cowboy is going to land!” “Don’t Mess With Mama was inspired by an original pen and ink illustration we have hanging in our home by Edward Borein from the book, The Pinto Horse,” Pat continues. “I worked with the position of the wolf so that there is actual contact by the protective mare in warding off the attack on her foal by the hungry predator. Mama proved that the wolf took on more than he could handle.”

The issue’s cover image of the sculpture of Shy Boy, a wild mustang Monty Roberts successfully gentled, depicts the moment of suspension of the gallop when the horse is completely airborne. It is a stunning example of Pat Roberts’s ability to infuse a sculpture with life and motion. It embodies almost everything we all admire about horses: freedom, untamed exuberance, power and beauty. We can dream about that galloping mustang and try to grasp its reality for a fleeting moment. Pat Roberts has created that opportunity for us in her sculpture.

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