High ’n’ Dry

On your right, you’ll see the sculpture High ’n’ Dry, created by American artist T. D. Kelsey. It shows a cowboy kneeling on dry, rugged ground, offering water to his horse using his hat. It’s a simple scene, but a powerful one. In the American West, the horse was essential to a cowboy’s survival, and when traveling long distances through arid landscapes, taking care of your horse always came first. The title High ’n’ Dry refers to exactly that kind of situation, being stuck in a remote place without water, where every drop matters. The sculptor knew this reality firsthand. Before becoming an artist, T. D. Kelsey grew up on a ranch in Montana and worked with horses in the rodeo world. His work draws directly from that experience, aiming to show the real life of cowboys, far from the idealized images of the Wild West. In 2012, he donated a large collection of his sculptures to the city, a gift dedicated to the memory of his wife Sidni, who had supported his career for decades. According to him, she was the one who encouraged him to leave his job as a pilot and fully commit to sculpture, even though he had no formal training. If you turn around, you’ll also notice a large mural featuring Buffalo Bill. It promotes Buffalo Bill Cody Beer, a local beer created in 2011 in tribute to the town’s founder. The story behind it is a bit unusual, two local entrepreneurs launched their own version of “Buffalo Bill Beer” at almost the same time, which led to a small but widely talked-about legal dispute. Today, the beer is produced by a craft brewery right here in Cody. The mural itself is painted in the style of ghost signs, those old advertisements painted directly onto brick walls in American towns between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. Over time, these paintings faded and took on a ghost-like appearance, which is where the name comes from. Today, they’re considered part of the town’s heritage, telling the story of its past businesses and local products.