"Horse Tamers", ca. 1975

This statue, titled "Horse Tamers," adorns the entrance to Prospect Park, representing the power of the mind over that of brute strength. The statue was created by Frederick MacMonnies, whose work can be seen all over the city. MacMonnies reportedly made plaster molds of live horses for this statue, to make it as realistic as possible. "Horse Tamers" was commissioned in 1894 and unveiled in 1899. It was one a few new sculptural works installed in and around the park in the 1890s, under the planning and direction of architect Stanford White.

"Horse Tamers" did not have an easy journey to its current home, however. From MacMonnies' home in Giverny, France, where he lived in an artist's colony, a section of the bronze statue was damaged while shipping, then lost during a shipwreck. It was recovered and reworked by the artist before being dedicated in 1899.