Horse rides high through Carson City

A truck slowed and swerved toward Chryse Veit's house Monday afternoon.

Veit stopped mid-sentence as she watched the truck drive by. She has to remind herself that other people aren't used to the huge chrome horse made of car bumpers that sits in front of her home in Carson City.

"I should sell popcorn or something at this circus," she said.

Veit and her husband, Vaughn Veit, often get questions about the sculpture they commissioned two years ago. It was built from over 100 bumpers, many taken from Vaughn's classic car collection.

The couple decline to name the artist, but say she is from the West and likes her privacy.

Chryse said passing out cards with the sculpture's information is the easiest way to answer people's questions. Name: The Chrome Empress. Height: 12.5 feet. Weight 2,000 pounds. Breed: American Saddledbred.

"It's a conversation piece," Vaughn said.

The horse is made to be displayed, they said, and people stare it whether it's at the car wash or on the highway, where they haul it to car shows on a trailer.

"It's a lot of fun," Vaughn said. "Sometimes it screws you up on the road."

This is the horse's last week in Carson City. The couple will leave to finish a sweep of Western car shows.

The horse will find its permanent home at the couple's stables in Monticello, Minn. Vaughn owns a demolition and contracting company in the state.

Chryse said Vaughn's hobby, classic cars, and her love, horses, were the inspiration to commission the sculpture.

She helped design it and the size didn't bother a man who works on major demolition projects, she said.

"Things that big don't seem to intimidate him in any way," she said.

This is the second sculpture the couple has brought to car shows across the country. The first was a male version of the Chrome Empress called the Chrome Commander.

Chryse said a baby horse made of the same materials is under construction.

- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.