OBS to Take Phone Bids for Horse Fever Statue

The OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, which will feature a Horse Fever statue called “Clockwork Fury” as the last hip to sell on Tuesday, Mar. 16, will now accept phone bids on the unusual offering. It had previously been announced that bidding must take place only in person or via agent/proxy. Potential bidders can now register for phone bidding and will be called just before Clockwork Fury enters the ring. Unlike with live hips, no pre-qualification is necessary.

Clockwork Fury has greeted visitors at Journeyman Stud in Ocala for the past decade and is being donated to raise funds for Florida Thoroughbred Charities (FTC) and Marion Cultural Alliance (MCA). The statue is expected to sell between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., with coverage starting at 4:00 p.m. on the Horse Fever event page.

The post OBS to Take Phone Bids for Horse Fever Statue appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Journeyman’s “Clockwork Fury” to Sell for Charity at OBS

A unique piece of art entitled “Clockwork Fury” will sell as the last hip of the day Tuesday, Mar. 16, during the OBS March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. The “steampunk” horse statue, made by Florida artist Mark Hershberger and owned by Ocala's Journeyman Stud, will be auctioned as a partnership with Horse Fever 20/20 and OBS to help raise funds for Florida Thoroughbred Charities (FTC) and Marion Cultural Alliance (MCA). Due to the fundraising challenges non-profit organizations have faced during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Journeyman co-owner Crystal Fernung was moved to offer the statue that has graced her farm for the past decade.

Clockwork Fury was on display in the lobby of OBS during the recent January Mixed sale and will again be on display in the OBS lobby before the March sale, beginning Mar. 11 at noon. Bidding must be in person in the pavilion or via agent/proxy. No pre-qualification is necessary. The Horse Fever committee and Creech Horse Transportation will assist with delivery to the new owner within the U.S.

The post Journeyman’s “Clockwork Fury” to Sell for Charity at OBS appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Journeyman’s Horse Fever Statue to Go Through OBS Ring for Charity

A most unusual offering will be up for sale at the OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The last hip to go through the ring on Tuesday, Mar. 16, will be “Clockwork Fury,” a horse statue with an intriguing history that is part of the Horse Fever 20/20 public art project. The public art, which features life-sized horse statues by various artists, has given over $350,000 in grants to artists and organizations.

Breeders will be familiar with Clockwork Fury as he has greeted visitors at Ocala’s Journeyman Stud, owned by Brent and Crystal Fernung, for the past decade. The winning bidders of the statue about 10 years ago recently had him upgraded by his original artist, Mark Hershberger, and are sending him through the ring to raise funds for Florida Thoroughbred Charities (FTC) and Marion Cultural Alliance (MCA).

“This past year [due to the COVID-19 pandemic], FTC didn’t get to have their gala, had to cancel their big golf tournament. They lost a lot of money,” said Crystal Fernung. She said FTC supports Second Chances, where incarcerated women care for retired racehorses and get vocational training in horse care. “Second Chances is such a great program. I drive by it every day. With FTC being the major source of income, we thought if there was a way we could donate ‘Fury’ and get him sold, we could help. OBS is a game changer.

“Anyone from anywhere can buy him,” continued Fernung. “Creech Horse Transportation has philanthropically offered to deliver him to wherever they have a truck going. We’ll have internet bidding and people can see him in person at the [OBS] January sale [Jan. 26-27].”

Clockwork Fury is the official anniversary ambassador for the Horse Fever project, but is unique in that he has been donated back to the program by the Fernungs. His recent upgrade by his original artist has been monumental.

Clockwork Fury at Journeyman Stud | Courtesy of Crystal Fernung

“He’s made it through four hurricanes,” said Fernung. “There’s bluebirds that come to nest in him every year. Mark has preserved their nest and placed it inside him. Now he has 2020 technology, has fiberoptics in him. There’s so much more Mark could do now. He’s fiberglass, like all the others. But when Mark created him 20 years ago, he had him cut up in different shapes, painted him to look like metal, then put all that back together. His eyes are antique opera glasses that Mark had found. His star is a solar panel. His tail is these big, heavy chains, and when you move his tail, his head moves. We had no intentions of buying anything when we saw him 10 years ago, but when Mark had dry ice coming out of his hips and nose, it was, ‘Whoa.’ When they knocked him down to us for $15,000, Brent looked at me like, ‘What did you just do?'”

Fernung said she wants the “horse” that has served their farm so well to be able to continue to help others by the use of his proceeds.

This will be the fourth Horse Fever event in Ocala after projects in 2000, 2005, and 2011. Many of the statues from the earlier installations can still be seen around Ocala, while some have even traveled out of state. There will be a total of 15 horses for Horse Fever 20/20, all of which are scheduled to be unveiled Feb. 8. For more information, visit mcaocala.org/hf-2020.

The post Journeyman’s Horse Fever Statue to Go Through OBS Ring for Charity appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights