118 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
P
O
L
O
By Danika Rice
There is perhaps no greater compliment than to
be recognized within the realm of an industry which
provides the foundation, the true heart and soul of
everything you do. For all of us here at Sidelines
Magazine, we as a staff and as a magazine were
humbly honored in such a regard by the impressive
and beautifully crafted work of DiRico Fine Art. A
remarkable bronze sculpture deemed a tribute not
only to our magazine, but also to the very heart of
our publication, the people who work “on the sidelines”
within the polo and horse industries that give it the
very character we attempt to capture each month in
our profiles and articles. Artist Janene DiRico has
created a 17”x 12.5”x 7” limited edition bronze statue
simply named “Sidelines.”
Triple Threat…and Sidelines
Growing up between opposite coasts of the country
in both California and Florida, Janene credits an
upbringing with horses as the main inspiration as a
catalyst to what is now a highly successful career.
“I was honored to become the EQUUS Foundation/
Humanitarian Award trophy artist,” Janene says.
“My piece, Triple Threat, became the perpetual
trophy after the powers that be saw it in Sidelines
Magazine. For that, I am forever grateful.” Her more
than overwhelming thank you to our publication was
the creation of her polo masterpiece, in which Janene
concedes that the initial inspiration came from polo
player and friend Mike Harris, whose passion and
enthusiasm for polo Janene deems “infectious,” and
she comments that he is “always willing to share his
love for polo with everyone.”
That beautifully captured passion in her art is a
direct reflection to us at Sidelines of our “grass roots”
where we also began, on the sidelines of the polo
fields, traveling the country and capturing the stories,
personalities and, of course, horses we met along the
way. It is with the same integrity and passion that
Janene creates the intricate “stories” told by her art
that set her pieces apart. “When someone asks me
“how long did it take to make that?”, my answer is “my
whole life” because my art is constantly evolving,”
Janene says, “I have incorporated art in every career
I have had from media marketing for a country singer
in Nashville (I designed the t-shirts) to a degree in
dentistry (I decorated the offices on my days off). It’s
interesting how you come back to your first love...
mine is art and horses.”
Always Horses
Like many of us in this industry driven by our
passion for our four-legged companions, Janene
proudly reiterates, “Horses have always been a part
of my life. My sister, Julie DiRico of Hunter’s View Farm in
Delray Beach, and I have ridden our whole lives. We didn’t
play with toys. We rode.” With a smile she recalls, “when
we exhausted training our own horses, we “borrowed” the
neighbor’s Shetland pony to teach him how to roll over! He
was too small to ride so we taught him dog-tricks! Now, we
even take a “sister trip” every year to a favorite dude ranch
in Colorado called Rainbow Trout Ranch, just so we can ride
all day for a week! We both have made our careers with
horses - just in very different ways…..You should see her
draw a stick horse. That’s pretty funny stuff!”
Janene’s interwoven career and passion has left behind
a proud legacy for our magazine and for our industry as a
reflection of the most common threads that we all have. You
don’t have to be a polo player to appreciate the intricacies of
this beautiful bronze and nor do you have to be an artist to
recognize the extreme care given to the detail of the horses
muscle and power that are so beautifully showcased. We
at Sidelines see it as a proud reflection of who we are as a
magazine and as an industry of horse-crazy people who find
a way to create a career out of the animals we love so much,
no matter what discipline and to find innovative and creative
outlets to recognize them.
A Sidelines
Tribute
Sidelines, an original bronze by Janene DiRico