Product Description
Well it had to happen… I was sitting at home thinking about what to design next and an ad came on TV for the Calgary Stampede, self-titled “the greatest outdoor show on Earth” and away I went with my first extreme animal design.The horse’s name is Ned Kelly and the rider, in classic old-style two-handed bucking bronc pose, is called Ty Hardin, which is a quintessential ‘cowboy’ name, don’t you think? And he has a big hat to boot… Ned Kelly is a famous Australian Bush Ranger (Aussie for ‘romantic folk hero robber and killer’) from back in the day (about 1850), so I thought it was a good name for a wild horse, considering the number of great Aussie rodeo cowboys who made a dramatic impact on the sport in North America – Troy Dunn and Glenn O’Neil come to mind immediately.It’s stating the obvious to suggest a bull and rider is next (of course) and the design is well underway (Troy and The Yellow Whale perhaps?) as is the rodeo clown/bullfighter to accompany them.
Back to Ty and Ned… I thought the Garth Brooks’ style shirt would look particularly great, although the time period and context is somewhat mixed. And the Marlboro Man decal on the shirt sleeve seemed perfectly appropriate. And if the horse has somewhat of an alarmed look about him, I guess those monster spurs are getting his attention.
