Made by Sue Dobson
After studying many of your tutorials, I decided to have a go and learn from my mistakes. I have followed lots of tips and advice of yours and online and spent many hours, as it can be quite addictive watching it develop. It started as 2 pieces of cardboard and a photo and I made my own paper mache, used dry wall joint compound, a bit of clay and tin foil. I followed your advice and bought a glue gun and a very small drill, which were both invaluable. Can’t wait to start my next project, which I think will be a large reindeer. Thank you so much for all your tips and advice!


Wonderful sculpture. The horse proportions look great as does the horse and rider. This was a big undertaking and you pulled it off! Congrats!!
Than you very much, Pat. I enjoyed making it, but it did take quite a while, but a nice project when a bit bored. I’m currently making a life size deer for an Xmas decoration and it’s nearly been binned several times, but I’m persevering. Thanks again for your kind comments.
Hi Sue
Love your horse and jockey!
Very smooth claywork and great colors.
Thankyou Lummie, it was good fun to make.
Thanks for sharing
Really impressed with Frankl. Horses are so tricky with the proportions. I love his expression too!
Thankyou for your lovely comments, Denise. You’re absolutyely right, horses are very tricky. I think I had the horse’s legs right, but put it in the oven to harden something off and all the glue melted, the jockey fell off and the whole thing fell to the bottom of the oven and smashed. I persevered and repaired it, but never got the bottom of the horses legs quite right, but it was a learning experience!
Oh. My. Gosh.
You did a fantastic job with both the horse and jockey. The proportions look great. I bet you have many hours of hands on and even more pondering about it.
Hi Rose, yes, I spent many hours, but it was something to look forward to doing every day (I am retired). I found it quite addictive and challenging because it is quite small and fiddly to do the detail accurately. I am now making a big hare and am just about to start painting it. I have found it a lot easier being about 4 times bigger, but I am really hooked now on making models – how about you?
Hello Sue,
I just finished up a 18 inch lady in a bathing suit figure. I retired this last Fall and got hooked on the paper mache medium. I know the feeling when you are working on a project and you can’t wait to get back to it if you leave the house. I have worked with Italian crepe paper and am currently making some succulents. My niece paid me to make 18 of them so now I am committed. I do have a baby shower coming up that I want to make a baby moose clothes hook. I have the idea in my head now I just need to get it down on paper. Have you just started with paper mache or have you been doing it awhile?
I am going to attempt making a dachshund on a small scale. ( we have a dachshund ) But I need to get the moose done first. I am finding it fun to challenge myself. It’s amazing what some newspaper and paste can end up looking.
Thank you for your reply. I love that this site brings you to new adventures and people!
Best of luck with your hare, Rose
The form of your jockey is perfect. You did a great job on the horse as well. Very nice tribute!
Hi Connie and Kulow, thank you so much for your comments. I thoroughly enjoyed making it and learned a lot about the shape and confirmation of a horse, which is quite complex. The most difficulot part was the jockeys nose – it is so small and virtually impossible to shape correctly (from the side he looks like a boxer with his squashed nose! Thanks again for your lovely comments.
Very impressive!! Love Frankel.
Kayla, thankyou very much. I love Frankel (the real life horse) too!