DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, Utah -- A bronze sculpture of two horses arrived March 7 at the Dugway High School, Utah. This event created quite a stir in the Dugway community, particularly when photos were placed on the Dugway Proving Ground (Official) Facebook page. The Mustang is the school's mascot and symbol.
The Dugway High School houses 134 students, kindergartners to senior students and a staff of 33. The school opened in January and replaces the two former schools on post that were no longer serviceable. The sculpture is a big deal in the tiny English Village housing area of U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground. The school was built with $16.2 million Department of Defense funding with an addition $3.3 million from the Tooele School District.
The sculpture was created by the Bronze Depot in Orlando, Florida and cast in Thailand. Stacy Wall, who works at the school, was asked by Principal Jeff Wyatt and Steve West, the Building Construction Coordinator, to locate a fitting mascot representation for the school entrance.
Wall said she searched all over Utah online, but could not find a company which could cast a Mustang. All she could find was a statue called Seabiscuit, which was not what the school wanted.
"I found two companies that had the same statue [we selected] and one that was just a little bit different," she said, noting the Tooele School District required three bids for the work, which will be included in the landscaping plan for the school.
"We choose the statue called 'Mare and Foal' since had a large horse representing the High School students and a smaller horse for the Elementary School," Wall said.
Although when Wall asked, "Who is the artist of the sculpture?" the salesman at the Bronze Depot said several people worked on the sculpture, but he had no way of knowing who they are. Wall said the statue came on a boat to Hawaii, was loaded on a plane to Salt Lake, and trucked more than 80 miles to Dugway.
The sculpture, which stands in front of the school for now, will be relocated to the main flower bed in about a two-foot high planter bed centered along the walkway to the school's front door. Construction Boss Bill Blackwell is in preparation for moving the 1100 pound statue to the flower planter box. No information is available for when that will happen.
The Mustang sculpture will likely be featured prominently in graduation photos, school pictures and in snapshots by visiting former students for years to come.
Dugway Proving Ground is located southwest of Salt Lake City in Tooele County. This remote Army post is more than 1200 square miles. It is a Major Range and Test Facility Base, with a primary mission to provide developmental and production testing to support the nation's chemical and biological defense programs. English Village has all the amenities found is most small towns, grocery store, a library, gas station, gym and child care center, and now it has a new school with a bronze Mustang mascot.
Dugway Proving Ground is part of the Army Test & Evaluation Command, headquartered in Aberdeen, Maryland.
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