Equine Art, Leave it to the Pros

I arrived at WinStar Farm Monday morning to watch a few artists show off their painting skills in the stallion barn. But these were no ordinary artists, they were five famous stallions standing at the farm.
Congrats got us started on the colorful morning but the son of A.P. Indy made sure that he approved of the colors before starting his first Moneigh.

Once he decided the colors — which matched the silks he had raced in — were up to his standards, he seemed to really get into making his mark

Of the four Moneighs he did, this one seemed to be Congrat’s favorite.

More Than Ready, who shortly thereafter would be headed off to quarantine for his yearly trip to Australia, was the next horse up. When it came to painting his Moneigh, he was a pro.

Between his painting duties, More Than Ready was the class clown of the group. He loves sticking out his tongue and, even with paint all over his face, he took the opportunity to make everyone laugh.

More Than Ready also took his work extremely seriously, examining his paintings before deciding he was done with each one of them. Talk about a perfectionist.

During his session, More Than Ready got many pats from his groom Izzy, who also worked with the stallion when he stood at Vinery.

And like all the stallions, he was also given treats throughout the painting process. It’s not surprising that this was probably his favorite part of the whole thing.

In his final painting, More Than Ready had some assistance from Izzy. The pair did a great job!

While waiting for Tiznow to come out for his paintings, I noticed the colorful apron Debra Luttjohann wore. The paint splatters on it weren’t just from the WinStar stallions but from many of the great horses who have done Moneighs recently. This picture doesn’t do it justice, it is a work of art in itself.

A few minutes later, two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow made his way out to start his painting session.  Before beginning, he checked out the paper to see if it was edible or not.

Once he had made sure he couldn’t eat the paper, Tiznow alternated between playing with Izzy and painting his Moneighs. Whoever gets them will be adding quite a bit of color to their wall.

Tiznow also seemed to find it fun to get the paint all over himself, with the paint covering most of his chin and nose. He’d also rubbed his face on his leg to add even more color to his already chromed out body.

Before it was Pioneerof the Nile’s turn to paint, it was time for Distorted Humor to show off his skills. One of the top sires in North America, Distorted Humor sired 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide.
Distorted Humor has done Moneighs before and knew exactly what to do when the paint came out.

He also knew to expect treats throughout the process in exchange for his painting skills.

The last step of each Moneigh is getting each one stamped with a hoofprint. Here is Distorted Humor getting his hoof painted before putting his stamp on one of the paintings.

After putting his stamp on it, Distorted Humor checked out one of his Moneighs to make sure it was up to snuff. He seemed to approve.

Next up was Pioneerof the Nile, the sire of the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. He had three Moneighs on the docket, including one that a lucky America’s Best Racing fan will win in a contest that starts on July 7.
Izzy called him his “buddy” and it was obvious the two have a special relationship.

It was also obvious where American Pharoah gets his camera awareness from with Pioneerof the Nile spending a few minutes posing for the camera before the painting began.

I was told that Pioneerof the Nile had done a Moneigh when he was a racehorse and this time he was also interested in the paper and the painting.  

He voiced his opinion a few times while painting, making some faces during the process but after a little work the three Moneighs were done.

Pioneerof the Nile looked pretty proud of his painted muzzle at the end of his session, posing for a few more shots to show it off.

Pioneerof the Nile was the last stallion to paint Moneighs that morning and all of the paintings were laid out along a wall to dry out. One of the ladies told me she thinks this is the most Moneighs they’ve ever done at one time.

As for the Pioneerof the Nile Moneigh you have the chance to win, check out WinStar's Facebook page for more information.