{"id":51639,"date":"2024-08-24T13:28:35","date_gmt":"2024-08-24T18:28:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/?p=51639"},"modified":"2024-09-08T22:57:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-09T03:57:17","slug":"texan-rider-statue-unveiled-ahead-of-tarleton-state-football-home-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/texan-rider-statue-unveiled-ahead-of-tarleton-state-football-home-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"Texan Rider Statue Unveiled Ahead of Tarleton State Football Home Opener"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Waving his hat high in the air atop his rearing steed, the larger-than-life embodiment of the Texan Rider debuted this afternoon to a crowd of eager fans and distinguished guests gathered at Tarleton State University\u2019s Memorial Stadium for the football home opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"texan
The Texan Rider statue was unveiled Saturday in front of Memorial Stadium.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp, Board of Regents Chairman Bill Mahomes, Regents John Bellinger and Jay Graham, Dr. A. Dwain and Lynda Mayfield, and other members of the -M- Family Ranch were present for the bronze statue\u2019s unveiling, as were sculptor Mike Tabor and his wife, Suzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funding for the Texan Rider was provided by David Mayfield\u2019s -M- Family Ranch to honor his life of ranching, his love of the land and his interest in Tarleton State rodeo sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTradition is the purple thread that ties all Tarleton Texans together,\u201d said Tarleton State President Dr. James Hurley. \u201cOne prominent tradition of ours is the Texan Rider, and this statue will help ensure that our spirit remains strong for years to come. I want to thank the Mayfield family for their generous donation that has made this possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unveiling of the 13.5-foot-tall, more than 3,500-pound, 1.5-life-sized bronze mascot, the first three-dimensional artistic manifestation of the Tarleton State icon, marks the finale of a process several years in the making. The originally planned statue was not as massive, but once the project gained momentum and excitement around Tarleton transitioning to a full-fledged NCAA Division I institution grew, it was clear that a larger statement was warranted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to play in this division, you\u2019ve got to have a big presence,\u201d said sculptor Mike Tabor, distinguished Tarleton State alumnus and creator of the Texan Rider statue. \u201cThere\u2019s a new energy at Tarleton. It\u2019s my hope that students, alumni, faculty and visitors will marvel when they see this symbolic depiction that embodies all their achievements, accomplishments and the pride they have in this university.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tabor styled the statue with a classic look in a nod to the university\u2019s storied heritage, he said. The rider sports an \u201cold Texan\u201d look, with a vintage haircut, neck rag and hat creased in a 1950s style. His hat is held in one hand flung high in the air, and his face is serious but not scowling. \u201cHe looks like he came to play,\u201d Tabor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hope people feel something special when they look at it,\u201d he added. \u201cIt was special for me, the first representation of the Tarleton Texan in human-like form \u2014 it\u2019s very meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m honored to be involved in this project at such a pivotal time in the university\u2019s growth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statue started as a 16-inch clay model, which was enlarged into 12 separately sculpted sections of Styrofoam. Those pieces were then covered with clay and resculpted. From there, molds were made and over 50 pieces were cast individually and then welded together. Casting was done by The Crucible Foundry in Norman, Okla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The iconic horse and rider emerged as the athletic mascot of Tarleton State in the wake of a student body vote to call themselves and their sports teams \u201cTexans\u201d and \u201cTexAnns\u201d when the two-year college became a four-year university in 1961.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every few years, a new student is chosen to fulfill the role of Texan Rider at official events, promoting Tarleton State\u2019s school spirit and traditions. Junior Kolt Byrd currently holds that honor and can be seen at a variety of activities sporting his distinctive purple leather chaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tabor graduated from Tarleton State in 1981 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in art. One of the most respected postmodern Western expressionist painters in the United States and an accomplished sculptor, he is also heavily involved in public art works. Tabor created the life-size bronze statue of Maj. Gen. James Earl Rudder installed in 2017 on Rudder Way. His multiple-media portfolio includes the nationally renowned life-size bronze embodiment of Team Hoyt, the ESPY-winning father-son duo best known for their 32-year participation in the Boston Marathon. The sculpture is located near the marathon starting line staging area in Hopkinton, Mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Texan himself, Tabor is proud to have played an integral part in the bronze mascot\u2019s realization on campus where fans can enjoy it. He\u2019s dreamed about seeing it in front of Memorial Stadium ever since talks began, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh yeah, I\u2019m super excited. This is a pinnacle achievement for me, to be able to leave my mark at my alma mater, and very rewarding for me to see this statue in its forever home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Waving his hat high in the air atop his rearing steed, the larger-than-life embodiment of the Texan Rider debuted this afternoon to a crowd of eager fans …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":421,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,424,425,421],"tags":[429,433,442],"class_list":["post-51639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-arts-events","category-campus-community","category-featuredstories","tag-125-celebration","tag-athletics","tag-community-events"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"brian","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/brian-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2024\/08\/Texan_Rider_Featured-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","Arts & Events<\/a>","Campus & Community<\/a>","Featured Stories<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","Arts & Events<\/span>","Campus & Community<\/span>","Featured Stories<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["125 Celebration<\/a>","Athletics<\/a>","Community Events<\/a>"],"unlinked":["125 Celebration<\/span>","Athletics<\/span>","Community Events<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on August 24, 2024","modified":"Updated on September 8, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on August 24, 2024 1:28 pm","modified":"Updated on September 8, 2024 10:57 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"Group of people in front of Tarleton Memorial Stadium entrance.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}