Outer-row Stander (spare) - Prudential
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Carver: Ben Fehst, Max Lemermeyer & Don Reimer
Size: 46" chest to rump
Status: painting
Sponsor: available
As the carving of the horses neared the end, we realized that we had enough wood left over for one more horse. Since horses will be pulled off the machine on a regular basis for maintenance, extra horses are essential, and so it was decided that our last horse would be an extra special one. Consensus dictated that the horse would be an outer row, very elaborate horse, reminiscent of Marcus Illion's famous American Beauty, carved in 1927, but in our case designed and carved in the Philadelphia style. Since the stander was our "insurance" in case of a breakdown on the outer row, it was aptly named Prudential.
By this time, our carvers were very experienced and quite willing to work together as a team. As a result, Prudential was carved much as she would have been during the Golden Age of the Carousel, with several carvers working on the various body parts, but under the direction a head man. Max Lemermeyer, one of our most talented and prolific carvers, took on the carving of the flowers. A cute little lion cub was chosen as the saddle pack.
Although the horse presented a challenge for our volunteers, we knew that they were up to it. We hope that you will agree that the result is exquisite.