Happy Trails
Life-sized sculpture donated to riding academy
Tuesday was a joyous day for Happy Trails, a therapeutic horse riding center located at 2773 E. Oakdale Avenue in Tulare, because it received a donation of a life sized metal horse from local eccentric artist Jillian Jacqueline O Gillespiegiselle, best known as Jackie O. Happy Trials hosts children and adults with disabilities and have been serving Tulare, Kings and Fresno counties for 36 years.
For the past several years, Khist by the Wind, the life sized sheet iron sculpture of an Arabian Ambassador horse, has stood in the front yard of Diana and Tom Upton in Porterville. On Tuesday, the horse began a new chapter as Leslie Gardener, the Executive Director of Happy Trails, accepted the donation of the sculpture for the therapeutic facility.
“This is our first time seeing it,” said Gardener. “We came to look at it to see if it is something we could use at Happy Trails. Wowza! I knew it was going to be big. We are going to have to find just the perfect spot for it. I love this.”
The donation arose due to the fact Jackie O is having to move from their current residence and is prospectively hoping to relocate to the Hollywood or Glendale area.
The sculpture, titled Khist by the Wind because it was modeled after a horse with that name, was awarded with the 2010 Ambassador award, and is a favorite yard decoration amongst the neighborhood. The horse has been at its current location in Porterville for roughly four years. While the horse has been complete for many years, Jackie O will put the final touches on it by signing the bottom of the horse before it moves to its new location at Happy Trails.
“I’ve got some more work to do with it,” said Jackie O. “I plan on signing it on two sides, my signature on one side and her name on the other.”
Because of the sculptures size, the question arose as to how it will be