Artist creates life-size wire sculpture for Cheltenham Races

A sculpture artist has created a life-sized model of a horse woven out of wire, to be displayed at the renowned Cheltenham Festival.

Rupert Till first began weaving unique structures out of “old chicken wire” in 1991, finding himself on a tight budget after leaving art school.

He now makes intricate and realistic sculptures made from galvanised steel, bronze and copper wire as an homage to his personal admiration for race horses.

He has been donating a horse sculpture to Cheltenham Racecourse for around 25 years, and feels “honoured” to see his work displayed at the sporting venue.

The Cheltenham Festival will return to Gloucestershire on 11 March to 14 March.

It is one of the biggest events in the horse racing calendar and includes the famous Gold Cup race on its final day.

Mr Till, who is a “big national racing fan”, wanted to donate the sculptures as a way of “giving back to the community”.

“It’s obviously lovely when you get a sale, but it’s just great to be able to support your local track and put a smile on someone’s face,” he said.

“I would go to Cheltenham anyway, but to be there with my work and show everyone what you can have and what you can do, is fantastic.

“A lot of people often think that greys are lucky at Cheltenham too, so who knows.”

Mr Till began his artistic process for this year’s sculpture by taking measurements from a past winner.

“This is a life-size sculpture of a typical thoroughbred race horse,” he said.

“It’s about observing, drawing and measuring. If I see a detail above the eye I will try to recreate it in the wire.

“Exactly the same as if I was using a pencil to put a line on a piece of paper.

“There was a fair bit of pressure, but we like pressure,” he laughed.