Stampede unveils plans for $2M bronze sculpture

An anonymous donor has given the Calgary Stampede $2 million to create a 15-piece bronze sculpture that will fill 1,250 square feet in Stampede Park.

Stampede officials on Tuesday unveiled a model of the sculpture, which depicts two cowboys herding 15 horses across the Bow River.

Stampede chairman and president George Brookman said the installation will be one of the largest bronze sculptures in North America and rival the famous bronze bulls on Wall Street in New York City.

"This bronze will allow people to climb on it, little children to climb on it, to interact with it and really feel the sensation of being a part of the Calgary Stampede," he said.

Local artists and ranchers Bob Spaith and Richard Roenisch have been commissioned to create the sculpture, called "By the Banks of the Bow."

"This will not be a stylistic piece," Spaith said in a news release. "We want a horseman, a rodeo cowboy and an everyday Calgarian to believe that these horses are real and could spring to life at any point."

The bronze isexpected to be ready for the public in 2010.