Nashua & Clem

$4,000. - 6,000.

Upon Nashua’s death in 1982, Leslie Combs II commissioned Liza Todd-Tivey for a half-scale statue of the stallion being led by his groom, Clem Brooks. This lot is a smaller version of the original at Spendthrift. While many fans came to visit Nashua when he stood at the farm, Brooks inevitably became a favorite too. An often-told story relates that many admirers would ask Brooks for Nashua souvenirs, and he would always oblige by pulling a horseshoe that he said was “off Nashua” out
of his pocket to sell them. What the fans never knew was that Brooks would rummage around after the blacksmith departed and pick up any horseshoes he could find. Covering his bases, the clever Brooks always said they were “off” Nashua, never “on,” and that was true, as Nashua was not wearing them. In the bronze offered here, you can see the outline of a horseshoe in Brooks’ right pocket.