Mudsock is theme of the newest mural in Fishers
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For Kate Owen, Fishers’ newest mural will be personal.
Owen’s horse, Avelena, who died suddenly last November, will be featured prominently in the artwork along State Road 37.
Owen was one of 150 Fishers residents who sent in pictures of horses to muralist Koda Witsken, who whittled the images down to three to be included in the painting on the side of Alderman Automotive, 13875 Trade Center Drive.
“I couldn't think of a neater way to remember her by,” Owen said of her 12-year-old Hanoverian. “I drive that way all the time, my husband goes by it every day.”
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The 20-by-58-foot painting harkens back to city’s founding in the mid-1800s when horse-drawn carriages gave the city the nickname “Mudsock,” for the mud that covered the equines' lower legs.
The Mudsock name still lives in the suburb: the annual football game between Hamilton Southeastern High and Fishers High is known as the "Mudsock Game,” and it’s also the name of an athletic league.
More infamously, an 1881 brawl at two saloons on what is now 116th Street became known as the Battle of Mudsock. Combatants used pool balls, brass knuckles, knives and a beer faucet in a long-lasting donnybrook that killed one man, injured 32 and destroyed two buildings.
Witsken said she chose images of horses that were in motion to represent Fishers as a city moving forward. “They appear to be jumping out of the wall toward you,” she said.
Owen, 46, bought Avelena during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and rode her in dressage competitions. In November she learned that Avelena, 15.2 hands tall, had a fatal heart condition.
“She was a hard worker who loved being ridden and doing all the tricks,” Owen said.
When she saw Witksen's advertisement soliciting photos last spring she thought it would be a good way to carry on Avelena’s legacy.
“I am overwhelmed,” she said.
Witsken said the mural will be unveiled Aug. 19, at a ceremony from 10 a.m. until noon in the Alderman Automotive parking lot.
The other horses in the mural are images submitted by Brenda Palmer and Shayna Crooks.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Murals in Fishers: Mudsock theme of Alderman Automotive artwork
