Photograph by Kate Coudayre
Pony Express specs:
Medium: Cast Bronze and Stainless Steel
Dimensions: 20’ H x 15’ W x 18’ D
Completed: 2009
Legends Plaza
in Sparks is an outdoor shopping center near Reno, Nevada where RED Development Group selected Mark to create artwork that would unify the retail space and bring life to its five central fountains.
Pony Express is MGA's largest sculpture for the Legends Plaza, greeting visitors at its west entrance and creating a sense of arrival and place.
The sculpture is a literal representation of a Pony Express rider jumping his horse across the State of Nevada. The state surface has been divided to show the territorial expansions of Nevada prior to it becoming a state.
The Pony Express was a semi-weekly mail delivery serving the areas from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California from April 3, 1860 to October 28, 1861. It incorporated 500 mostly half-breed mustang horses, 190 relay stations (29 in Nevada) and 80 riders. Riders were paid just $120 each month, facing immense danger to earn it.
