The Trail of Painted Ponies 6015077 Cozy Toes Figurine 7.3 “

Seen in the hands of countless cowboys in numerous Hollywood westerns, the Winchester, lever-action repeating rifle, was the weapon of choice for the Western horseman. For good reason, it allowed the user to fire a number of shots before having to reload. The Winchester was conveniently carried in a tooled leather scabbard that was strapped to the saddle, where it was kept safe, easily drawn, and ready at all times. This rifle was the iconic firearm of 19th century America, which is why it is often called 'The Gun that Won the West'.

There have been a number of powerful tributes to the tragedy of 9/11, among them the commemorative public art installation known as the Tribute of Lights: a pair of giant beams of light, installed at Ground Zero, that mimicked the position and shape of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center as they illuminated the night sky over Manhattan. With this image in mind, I conceived of a Painted Pony that utilized the same form that The Trail created for a previous tribute to 9/11 titled "Unconquered," which posed a white stallion triumphantly atop rubble intended to represent the collapsed Twin Towers, with an American flag behind it. But instead of a white horse, this piece would feature a faceted blue horse. Blue because the lights in the Tribute of Lights were blue. Faceted to represent the 43,600 windows that were part of the Twin Towers, as well as the venues on the top floors of the North Tower which were called Windows on the World. The title - "Wild Blue" - borrows the name of a restaurant in the North Tower that was destroyed.