The statue stood on a large boulder inside a fenced area near a park that bordered a noisy freeway.

A plaque describing the sculpture was embedded in concrete and lay flat on the ground. It read, in part, "This statue commemorates the glory of the pony express..."

A pony express rider was astride a pony express horse. Such riders would run their horses at a gallop to minimize the time taken to deliver messages.

A mid-19th century pony express rider with a modern 21st century city skyline behind.

The pony express rider's horse rode through grasslands. Here its hoof gained purchase in a tuft of bronze grass.

Locked saddle bags carried the messages along the pony express route. A button on each saddle bag identified those messages as US mail.

The pony express horse and rider faced forward and raced under barren winter trees.

The horse's head was sculpted in harsh detail. The rider was bent over the head of the horse and carried a whip in his right hand.

The horse was sculpted as a muscular beast, its muscles clear as it powered over a boulder.