Horse sculpture auctioned off for charity at OBS

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - The Ocala Breeders’ Sales auctions have sold thousands of thoroughbreds, but Tuesday they auction off a first.

Many people are used to hearing horse noises when they go to a horse auction but today, for the first time, a non-live horse named Clockwork Fury was auctioned. The horse was auctioned off for $30,000. With the money going to the Second Chances Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation that connects female inmates with equine partners to help positively change their lives.

One of the owners of the horse Crystal Fernung talked about how this program changed an inmates life “she never been around horses in her life and then graduated from the program was released. one of the prominent pin hookers here in town hired her taught her how to gallop she’s now married has a child has a home and she will tell you it’s because of that program.”

The artists that created the horse Mark Hershberger spoke on how it all started from a dream “he was rampaging through this town with a log he was pulling a log and something went wrong and the log hit something caught on fire and he was trying to get away from it so he’s running through this town with a log and that was the dream a crazy dream.”

Hershberger started building the horse 11 years ago and thought back to it being more than a piece of art. “While I worked on him the first time my first grandchild was born my granddaughter Maxine and while I worked on him this time my mother passed away from COVID so there’s a lot of meaning in this guy.

The Marion Cultural Alliance hopes the money raised will help many people in the community.

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