Now that’s a horse of a different color

To any doubters that Glory is the Dom Perignon of paint horses, just visit Stone Horses’ Web site. For sale is a plastic statue of a paint horse named Dun In Champagne. Yes, Blue Hill’s own Glory was selected from a cast of thousands to be the model.

When Glory was chosen as a Stone Horses model, it was as if Simon came to Pam Rackliffe’s door and said, “Your horse is the new American Idol.”

Horse statue collecting no longer is child’s play. In July a hand-painted model of a yawning Haflinger pony sold at auction for $4,800. Collectors may have been drawn to the unusual pose, but the artist, D’Arry Jone Frank, a Stone Horses artist, is in big demand.

Glory’s in was freelance artist Wendy Galbreath, who also paints original models for Stone Horses.

Her originals then are copied by three painters at the company factory.

“Champagne is what model collectors call a ‘designer color,'” said Galbreath, who called from her studio in Indiana to talk about one very cute foal named Glory. “I was doing research on champagne and Pam … well, let’s just say the project wouldn’t have happened without her help.”

Champagne is a horse of a different color, not just another light brown horse. In a lineup, said Galbreath, they would stand out.

“They just glow with this metallic sheen in the sunshine,” she explained.

Statues of Glory, the “it” girl of champagne paints, are popping off the shelf at the Stone Horses company. Two dozen have been ordered in the few days that she’s been available. But back home in Blue Hill, Glory is making the best of mud season and appears to be taking her sudden fame in stride.

To see Stone Horses’ model of a paint horse named Dun In Champagne, visit www.stonehorses.com and click on showline, then weanlings. For more information, call 1-866-581-1370.