Derek the Horse Gets a New Lease of Life!

A much-loved member of the Craven College Equine department has been given a new lease of life in a collaboration with the Art & Design department.

Derek the Horse, who has proudly been working with the Equine team since 2004, was in great need of some TLC, having a broken jaw and just looking a bit tired.

Back in Autumn, Derek was transported on a trailer from Craven Arena up to the Aireville Campus where he took up residence in a studio. Art & Design students had been tasked with designing a new look for Derek, to enable him to take up a new role as a teaching aid; on one side a group would paint an anatomically correct skeleton, whilst on his other side would be the organs.

A new lower jaw was lovingly and carefully created, whilst hair extensions bought and attached.

Once the project was finished, it was time to return Derek home. Firstly, he stopped off at Reception to get his very own ID, before being loaded back on to the trailer and making the short journey back to the Arena.

Tommy Clough, Art & Design Technician/Instructor said, “Saved from the skip, Derek the Horse – a long-time presence in the Craven College Equine Department – came to us as a project in need of restoration or refurbishment.

“A brief was pitched to the Level 3 Year 1 Art & Design students to bring Derek back to life in a new role of anatomical teaching aid. Designed as the sort of real-life task a creative practitioner finds themselves taking on in their work, the students divided into teams, formulating a plan to answer the brief, executing it and delivering a finished product to their ‘Client.’

“Derek Le Horse now stands back in pride of place as one of the longest serving members of the Equine Team.”

Jennifer Hartley, Equine Yard Manager, added “Derek came to the Equine department in 2004, and was part of the landscape when I was a student at Craven College! He has been saved from a skip twice, and it means so much to us that he’s now back to his best and able to be used in lessons from primary school age on pony camps through to degree level students.”

Fine out more about Craven Arena or Art & Design courses at Craven College or visit us on our next Open Evening!