Great Yorkshire Show: 12 feet high horse sculpture set to welcome this year's visitors

It was craned into position outside the Yorkshire Event Centre last Friday where it will welcome visitors to the Art Show and Food Hall at the Great Yorkshire Show between Tuesday and Friday.

Mr Holman, from near Selby, who began experimenting with metal sculpting when he was a teenager, has been working on the masterpiece for five years in between other projects and cannot wait to see it at the heart of the Great Yorkshire Show.

Mr Holman learned to weld as a 13-year-old under the guidance of his father David and later studied at Leeds College of Art. The horse sculpture is entitled Os II after the Yorkshire slang for horse and because this is his second attempt at sculpting a full-scale rearing horse. His first was sold to Cheltenham Racecourse.

A painstaking process, the artist would move a scaffolding frame around his developing sculpture and would jump on and off to get a wider perspective after each adjustment to ensure the form of the horse was just so.

He said: “I hope it stops people in their tracks and creates a big crowd around it. It will be nice to see people’s reactions.

“The driving force behind this one was to improve myself as an artist and really capture the raw physical power of the horse in more detail. For this one, I layered up the horseshoes to give it that sense of power.

“To get the form right, I relied on images of horses online and my mum and dad rent a field off for horses, so a quick hop over the fence came in handy too.”

Mr Holman, who first attended the Great Yorkshire Show as a schoolboy, added: “It’s nice to be bringing it to the Show. Being a Yorkshireman and bringing a sculpture made of horseshoes from all over Yorkshire to a place that celebrates Yorkshire feels very fitting.”

His metalwork horses were initially inspired by his sister’s horse riding, but his repertoire extends beyond the equine to sculptures of human form. Some of his other work will be available to view and purchase in the Great Yorkshire Show’s Art Show.

As for ‘Os II’, which has also been displayed at Wetherby Racecourse and Newby Hall, Mr Holman said: “It’s for sale or could be rented out – I’ve had enquiries for weddings – but it would be nice to keep it in Yorkshire.”

There is a strong equine section at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show with 1,800 entries and one of the most prestigious showjumping events in the UK, The Cock O The North which regularly attracts some of the biggest names in the showjumping world.

Classes for Connemara ponies and Traditional Cobs have been added to the schedule for 2023. The Connemara pony which is native to the west of Ireland and is known for athleticism, versatility, and good temperament can be seen in classes on Thursday of show. The Traditional Cobs – that can be either coloured or solid colour - appear on Friday.

Horses of every shape, size, and colour, from Miniature Shetlands to massive Shires, will be vying for the red ribbons and family favourite, the Donkeys will also return to the Ridings Ring on the Wednesday.

Charles Mills, Show Director, said: “Horses have been part of the rural landscape for hundreds of years, with careful breeding enabling their development for a host of activities, from ploughing to transport to children’s ponies, and we will see some of the best examples in the country, from elite showjumpers to native ponies from across the UK and Ireland.”

The breeding classes will culminate in the In-hand Supreme Championship on Thursday where 19 different breeding animals from the pony and light horse sections will go head-to head with the winner qualifying to go forward to the Horse of the Year Show.

There are extensive ridden classes for horses and ponies alike, from Hunters to Highlands, Ridden Coloureds to Retrained Racehorses.

Heavy horses will be on show, both in-hand and in Heavy Horse Turnouts where they pull traditional carts and wagons. A new Horse of the Year Show Qualifier has also been introduced in the two-wheeled cart class for 2023. The adrenaline-fueled scurry classes will take place in the main ring on the Wednesday with their championship being held on the Thursday.

New showjumping classes which debuted last year in the Top Spec White Rose ring with Senior Newcomer, Senior Foxhunter and the White Rose Open classes, are back and are expected to be over-subscribed again.