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| Staff Writer |
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Through her exceptional craftsmanship and unwavering dedication to capturing equine perfection in art, Karen Kasper has forever elevated the spotlight on the world's most impeccably bred Thoroughbreds and Arabians. Her meticulously crafted bronze sculptures—created through personal life studies of each subject—capture not merely physical likeness but the distinctive spirit that defines exceptional equines.
Working from her historic Kentucky studio with her husband Ray, Kasper continues transforming her lifelong equine passion into enduring bronze tributes that have found homes in royal collections across Morocco, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, becoming cultural bridges connecting international breeding programmes and enhancing appreciation for equine excellence worldwide.
In an industry overwhelmingly dominated by men, Kasper offers a refreshing perspective that celebrates both the women who have broken barriers in racing and an extraordinary mare who has changed the sport.
"It seems it’s often the stallions people are talking about and promoting. But, there's a story to be told about the mares."
Kasper's work has connected her with trailblazing women in the Thoroughbred world, including Penny Chenery, owner of the legendary Secretariat, whose story inspired countless women to pursue their passion in racing. Another prominent female owner whose horses Kasper has immortalised is Maria Niarchos-Gouazé, owner of the exceptional mare Miesque.
"My connection to most of the great ladies I know in the equine industry has been through art," Kasper explains. "They took notice or contacted me, or might have a piece of my art, and then I had the pleasure of getting to know them."
What makes Kasper's work stand apart is her extraordinary ability to capture not just the physical attributes of her subjects, but something far more elusive—their essence and character.
"A sculpture has to be right in all 360 degrees," Kasper shares about her artistic process. "A sculpture can be accurate to a likeness on one side and be a completely different horse on the other side. I work on them on a stand that rotates, and am always turning them, because the sculpture has to be truthful on all sides."
This dedication to accuracy creates what Kasper calls "an infinite piece of art" that changes with viewing angle and lighting, maintaining a presence much like the living horse itself. For horses no longer with us, her sculptures become especially poignant.
"Many great horses that I've been honoured to portray are no longer on this earth. But I feel proud that when I look at their sculptures, I know I was truthful about capturing things that stand for them now. Through the power of art, they are still a presence, now represented 'in art as in life.'"
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While stallions typically dominate headlines and stud advertisements, Kasper takes particular pride in having portrayed an exceptional mare who made racing history.
Miesque stands as a perfect example—a mare who made history by winning the Breeders' Cup Mile twice against male competition. Her four-year-old campaign was highlighted by another win in the Mile, making her the first horse to win two consecutive Breeders' Cup races. She was a Group One winner at two, three, and four years old, with a total of ten Group One wins, ultimately earning induction into the American Racing Hall of Fame in 1999.
"Miesque is a beacon for what a great mare can accomplish in the industry," Kasper notes. "She made history with her own racing triumphs, and she also continued and produced a powerful legacy.”
Indeed, Miesque's influence extended to her offspring, including her son Kingmambo, whom Kasper also sculpted, completing what she calls a "royal family" that includes her earlier bronze portrayal of Nureyev, Miesque's sire.
Kasper has observed a distinct difference in how many female owners relate to their horses compared to their male counterparts.
"I believe, and my experience has been, that the female patrons I have done portrait work for have a special affinity for their horses, something that is not only achievement orientated," she observes. "Sometimes I feel that men will prize stallions more by what they've earned, what they've produced, than who they are. But I find that my female patrons are more personally connected to their favourite horses."
This connection often leads to revelatory moments during the sculpting process. "I may observe the horse and point out certain aspects to the owner that strike me as unique about their horse, which completely surprise them. They say they've had this horse for years, and they never noticed whatever little detail I might be showing them."
"I think that women are very perceptive about the particularities of the horses that they love," Kasper adds. "They notice things more like a mother might notice."
Perhaps Kasper's most profound insight is her understanding of art's role in preserving equine greatness across generations.
"Art shares something of the human soul connection with these horses that a photograph or a video never will," she explains. "I love to look back in history at the great equine art portrayals of horses by artists who stood in front of those horses in life. You feel an authenticity, a connection that although you weren't there, that artist was there; they share the living realism of their subject."
This understanding crystallised for Kasper during one of her first public bronze unveilings, where both the sculpture and the living subject were present.
"I realised at that moment that every age has its greats," she recalls with emotion. "We all have to look around and realise the horses that are the greats of our day. That's why it's such a privilege for me to portray horses. I feel dedicated to passing on the truth of how I experience them for people who may never get to see them in life."
This mission has led Kasper to create enduring tributes to some of racing's most iconic figures. Her oil painting of Secretariat with his groom was painted from life during her first visit to Kentucky's Bluegrass region in 1991. She later sculpted A.P. Indy, a grandson of Secretariat, through his dam Weekend Surprise, first in 1/5 life scale and later as a life-size bronze that stands in the stallion courtyard at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky.
Through these works, Kasper doesn't merely document—she preserves the living legacy of these champions. "I consider art itself as a 'leader'—leading us to appreciate the horse and human bond and how these wonderful subjects touch our soul, past, present, and future," Kasper reflects. "To me, this is the power of art. Art as in life."