Shelley Hunter is a full member of the AAEA and is currently serving as the organization’s executive director. Her sculptures can be seen at the AAEA Spring Exhibition, April 14-29 in Lexington Ky.

This week’s cover, Forego, Signed By The Horse, is part of the premium package for a $10,000 donation to the AAEA. The Academy is raising money to finance construction of an educational center at the Kentucky Horse Park. The center will furnish additional space for the classes and workshops for which the academy is famous. It will also provide a home for the AAEA permanent collection and its library.

Said Hunter, “Forego seemed to be interested in the process and spent a lot of time standing at the fence supervising. When the piece was almost done, Forego came over and put his head over the fence. He sniffed the clay sculpture from the tail to the ears and back again, and then took a bite of the butt. He left four tooth marks right over the left hip of the horse. I took it as a sign of approval and left them there.”

Forego was voted Horse of the Year three times, champion handicap horse four times and champion sprinter one time, giving him a record eight Eclipse Awards.