Kristina Lucas sculpted Suspiro with the bearing of a flamenco dancer. Clearly delighted with himself, he prances with neck arched, ears twitching, lip pooked, and eyes sparkling. His left fore and right hind legs are raised, and he balances on two legs and the tip of his flowing tail. Suspiro was produced in two original finish colors. The gray has a white body with gray shading on his legs and face, a dark gray mane and tail, and dark hooves. The buckskin has a golden body with dark gray or black mane, tail, legs, and facial shading. For both colors, his only marking is a pink lip snip, which varies in position and size. Suspiro set new records for Pour Horse. He is the largest Pour Horse at 6.25 inches tall, the most complex (with a five part mold), and the highest priced (originally $180). Over two years, Pour Horse produced 116 gray, 114 buckskin, and 34 unpainted bisque Suspiros. While each Pour Horse is handmade and varies in details, Suspiro set a new standard for finish consistency, there are relatively few variations. The only major variation occurs in the first few models made. The first eight gray and buckskin Suspiros have distinctive shading over their entire bodies. However, because the models were bisque fired laying down, the shading had a tendency to become rubbed during firing. So all subsequent Suspiros lack this shading. The next variation occurred during painting of the eye. Joan would begin in the center and work outwards to make the iris as circular as possible; this would result in some variation in eye position. Then, she would paint the other eye to match the first eye's position. Most of the Suspiros ended up with eyewhites in front (eyes looking back). A fair number - perhaps as many as a third of the run - sport eyewhites on top (eyes looking down). Few, if any, have eyewhites in back (eyes looking forward), and none are known to have eyes looking up. There may be some out there with eyes looking in different directions. Real horses can do that, but Joan tried to avoid it in Suspiro. The final variation is really a spectrum. In both colors, the mane and tail became gradually darker as the run progressed. Since the Spanish horse includes many breeds - Andalusian, Lusitano, Alter Real, Castilian, Carthusian - breed selection can challenge the collector. Fortunately, Suspiro represents most of them well. Just be sure that the breed you select for your buckskin permits his color; Andalusian does not. For some variety, choose a lesser-known, regional Iberian breed. Zapatero, anyone? To take your Suspiro to uncharted territory, how about performance? Creative collectors have shown him in driving, trail, even calf roping! Whether on a shelf, at the show, or under tack, Suspiro will make you sigh with delight.
article written by Liz Holm
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