CANADIAN PRO RODEO HALL OF FAME AWARD
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE upcoming CPRHF members (who will be announced in June), and in case some of us don’t get a chance to see this stunning sculpture in person, I wanted to give you the first look.
Technically, the art doesn’t have a name, but its nickname is “Canadian Bucker.”
“It’s a bit similar to the last sculpture
I did for them,” says 35-year-old bronze artist Shay Keller from his studio in Killdeer, Saskatchewan. “There isn’t one particular picture that I worked off of because, with sculpture, you have to see all the way around.”
His work is incredibly life-like. “I work from the inside out; I build the skeleton and then put the muscle and skin on top,” he explained. “If you build the skeleton right the first time then if you need to move a leg, the shoulder moves with it, and the whole body changes.”
For those that are wondering, “back in the day,” every bronc rider rode with a lefthand rein, that is until the immortal champion, Kenny McLean. When Kenny won the World in 1962, he was the first right-hand rider. Nowadays, it’s about 50-50.
The Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame is located in Ponoka, Alta, in the Calnash Trucking Ag Event Centre.
To nominate a cowboy, cowgirl or rodeo stock for the Hall of Fame, visit their website at canadianprorodeohalloffame.org. Nominations are accepted all year round.