Participating Foundries:
Shidoni and Eagle Bronze

The Equestrian (Don Juan de Oñate), by sculptor John Sherrill Houser, was cast (2002-2005) by Shidoni Foundry in Tesuque, New Mexico. Eagle Bronze Foundry of Lander, Wyoming (2005-2006) did the finishing and pre-assembly and installed the monument at the entrance of the El Paso International Airport on October 31, 2006. In February 2006, the castings (from nearly 500 molds) were shipped to Eagle Bronze Foundry for pre-assembly and finishing (welding, chasing, patina application and construction of the stainless steel internal armature). Eagle Bronze specializes in large-scale monuments (casting, assembly/finishing and installation). The huge equestrian was transported in six bronze sections by flatbed trucks to the El Paso International Airport on April 27, 2006 where it was permanently assembled (with the international armature). The foundry staff completed the intallation at the airport entrance on October 31, 2006. The moument will be dedicated on Saturday, April 21, 2007.

The colossus depicts Don Juan de Oñate, Spanish colonizer, at the Pass of the North (modern-day El Paso, Texas and Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua) in 1598. He introduced Spanish settlement and the horse to the American Southwest and founded El Camino Real (The Royal Road), the vital link between Mexico City and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He gave the El Paso its name (The Pass of the River of the North). It is a historical paradox that the city in 1992 commissioned the statue to  specifically commemorate "Don Juan de Oñate", but in 2003 replaced that name with the anonymous title "The Equestrian". Efforts are being made by Mr. John Cook, Mayor of El Paso, to recognize the man (on the statue) who gave the city it's name, Don Juan de Oñate.