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The first metal horse of Plains is done, but creator Kenton Pies now has a bigger hurdle to get over – funding his project.

"It's quite a relief to have it finished. It's a joy, but I have changes to make on the rest of them – artists are never satisfied," said the 85-year-old Plains artist, who created a steel horse that he hopes will be a sample of the future "Wild Horse Plains" herd, which will be located somewhere along the greenway.

Pies started working on the prototype horse last September and finished his 10-foot long, eight-foot high horse last week after putting on the final touches of paint. He estimates that he has more than 300 hours into the project. His plan was initially to build eight, but he reduced the number to five. Creating the 237-pound steel horse was tough at times. He worked on it in an old horse stall at his home east of Plains three or four hours a day, sometimes in bitter cold. He had some help from Bill Curry of Plains, but did most of it himself. He said that by getting the "bugs" out of the first horse, it won't take as long to do the entire herd, particularly if he gets additional help.

However, he said raising the money to finish the job might be the hardest part. He estimated that the entire project will cost more than $30,000. He guessed that it could be around $10,000 per horse. He plans to apply for a state or federal grant of around $15,000, but has been told that he has to first come up with matching funds. He's already received small donations and anticipates more will come in. He had looked into the possibility of making it a nonprofit project, although he would get reimbursed for the materials and get paid for his labor. He has temporarily shelved the nonprofit idea, but is taking donations. He is also dabbling with the idea of having a "name the horse" fundraiser.

Pies said the finished horse is only a prototype, which he will use to show the public what the horses would generally look like. He will also use it to raise funds for the project by stationing it around town. He said it's a generic horse, but he plans to make the additional horses with a narrower neck and the stomach area less straight across. "There's a few little things on the next ones that I'll change, but overall I'm happy with it," said the retired commercial artist.

The horse is comprised of several types of metal from small rebar to a quarter-inch perforated steal covering. He began by welding the metal pieces together, but switched to screws when he was about two-thirds of the way done. Hundreds of pieces of small metal strands make up mane and tail, which he said was very difficult because of how small each piece is made. He painted the prototype horse, but he's still toying with the idea of coating the future horses with a special cement. The horse is on rollers for mobility purposes.

Pies dabbled in art as a youth and in the U.S. Army, but he didn't become a bona fide professional artist until the mid 1950s. He eventually started his own business, Kenton Designs, LLC, and did a myriad of different types of work: paintings, wood, ceramic, stone, glass, and metal, most of which were large custom made signs. Even after he officially retired in 2005 and moved to Plains, he continued with small projects, although one of the biggest works of his life was done only five years ago, when he created a 50-foot dragon for a playground in Washington.

Ed Moreth

NEARING THE FINISH – Kenton Pies places strands of metal to make up the mane of his steel horse. The artist said the mane and tail pieces were some of the toughest parts to create.

He admits the horse project is going to be a monumental task, but he is excited about doing it and believes it will be good for the community, bringing in tourists, who spend money at the local businesses. He's already received permission from Montana Rail Link and the town to have the horses situated along the greenway. He said Mayor Dan Rowan likes the horse herd idea, but he told Pies the town doesn't have funds to pitch into the project. Pies initially considered having the horses at the top of a hill along Highway 28, just outside of Plains or on private property on the P Hill, but both places were logistically troublesome.

Pies will have his steel horse in the Plains Days Parade Saturday morning. He hopes that community residents will eventually identify themselves with the herd of Plains Wild Horses. "People will have relatives and friends come see our horses," said Pies. "That is the purpose of works of art, like the Space Needle in a small way. The same reason to come see waterfalls or rivers."