Outer-row Jumper - Bonnie
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Carver: The Pony Keepers, Missoula
Size: 48" chest to rump
Status: carving
Sponsor: Bryce Van Dusen
It has become tradition for communities that have recently produced hand carved carousels to carve a horse for a community that is creating a new carousel. In keeping with that tradition, Bonnie is being carved by the Pony Keepers of Missoula, Montana, whose very popular carousel opened six years ago. Local artist, Sharon Abbott, has used a combination of Alberta and Montana emblems in her rendition of our PTC-style jumper.
The two flower emblems, the Alberta Wild Rose, chosen as an emblem in 1930 and the bitterroot, a beautiful Montana flower that opens deep fuchsia and turns pink as it matures, are intertwined along the length of the horse on its romance side.
The western meadowlark, a song bird common to the western plains and forests of the U.S., with its bright yellow breast, long curved beak and speckled wings and back, appears towards the front of Bonnie. The explorers, Lewis and Clark, took note of the western meadowlark during their journey across the Rocky Mountains over a century ago.
The great horned owl, shown with its wings spread near the saddle cantle, is one of Canada's largest birds of prey. Nocturnal, it lives in forested and semi-forested areas all over North America. It is known for its large yellow eyes and long fluffy feathers, with its colour varying from brown to grey-brown. The great horned owl became one of Alberta's official emblems in 1977.