114cm x 73cm Original SOLD.

Giclees 94.5cm x 59cm on Hahnenuehle 100% cotton museum quality paper.

“ We called them ‘men’ but in reality they were but boyhood mates with their equine pals who rode for days to ‘join up’, eager to have a life adventure together, stories to tell, beat the ‘enemy’. Most already able to ride and shoot, they received little training, coerced by the lure of excitement on foreign shores, they boarded the boats.  Reality awakened the ‘men’ in them all too soon, split up from their horses, or thrust into a sandy charge across deserts bereft of water, poorly provisioned, their mounts battling the seemingly insurmountable…the Recruits swiftly became the bravest of heroes, their bond with their horses unshakeable, unbreakable.  Eventually, heartened by success but weakened by wounds and losses, they received word to return to their homeland, but they would return alone, for their horses, the foals they grew up with, rode bareback and naked to the streams to frolic, to gallop the green fields,  the blue mountains of home, would remain.  Some, unable to bear the thought of their dear friend’s likely fate, would say a heartfelt goodbye, a pain-filled wrenching thank you, and bravely gift a merciful release, the report echoing across the desolate sands. The recruits of today honour their memory, although the reality of their service is more known, still within them lie the young boys and girls, eager to defend the nation, our culture and the very legacy those first recruits so courageously left behind. To you we say our heartfelt thanks for all you give up, for all the hardships you suffer, to keep us safe.”