Cowboy Bronze – The Equine Chronicle Provides Inspiration for Trophies

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152 – November/December, 2017

By Taylor Fabus

A quick blink is all it would take to miss the tiny town of Cross Timbers, Missouri. An ordinary town in America’s heartland, Cross Timbers consists of just 289 acres shared by less than 200 residents. Despite its size, the town is home to a wellspring of unexpected talent. In addition to being the home base for one of the top gunsmiths in the nation and the famous Lucas Oil Ranch, Cross Timbers is the creative center for Cowboy Bronze, a family business owned by husband and wife duo, Clay and Betty Gant. Self-described as “designers with a vision,” the Gant’s are responsible for creating some of the most coveted trophies that show up on our horse show’s biggest stages.

After seeing some of Clay’s work, it’s hard to believe that he’s a self-taught artist who first began sculpting in 2000. Like most artists, Clay has always found it easy to translate his creative vision into a variety of mediums. “Being an artist is much like climbing a mountain,” Clay says. “You eventually get to the top and see the next mountain and think, ‘Oh that’s neat. I’d like to try and climb that next.’ When I began sculpting, I was like a young horse that found himself on the wrong lead… a lot. I consider myself to be an ‘artist in training’ who’s always learning and improving. Not too long ago, I had someone ask me what was my best sculpture. I thought for a minute and replied that it was my last one, and that’s still true. I try to improve with each piece that I do.”

It doesn’t hurt that Clay has surrounded himself with some of the greats. His mentor, Orren Mixer, was known for creating some of the most iconic renderings of the American Quarter Horse and was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 1993. But long before Clay was sculpting bronze trophies, he and his wife were molding the next generation of performance horses. “Our career started out in the equine business in training and showing and that led us to develop the Cowboy Bronze line. You see, the 401(k) plan for horse trainers isn’t always the best, and the risk of injury is imminent and increasingly troublesome as you age. My wife and I saw a need for high quality, versatile and artful equine awards. We knew we could bring that to the show arena, and that continues to be our goal: bringing art to horse show awards,” he says.

Click here to read the complete article
152 – November/December, 2017