''Pegasus and Dragon'' is a tall statue of

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

defeating a dragon in

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

Hallandale Beach Hallandale Beach (formerly known simply as Hallandale) is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, the son of a Swedish worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. As of the ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. It is the third-tallest statue in the United States after the ''

Birth of the New World The ''Birth of the New World'' ( es, Nacimiento del Nuevo Mundo, colloquially known as ''La Estatua de Colón'' or literally ''Columbus' Statue'') is a bronze sculpture located on the Atlantic coastline of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. When completed ...

'' in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

and the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It is also the world's largest and tallest equine and

European dragon The European dragon is a legendary creature in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe. The Roman poet Virgil in his poem ''Culex'' lines 163-201, describing a shepherd having a fight with a big constricting snake, ca ...

statue. The Pegasus is poised with its front hoof on the neck of the dragon, which lies prostrate far below the level of the equine. The statue complex is in length and in width. Pegasus is made of 330 tons of steel and 132 tons of bronze. The dragon is made of 110 tons of steel and 132 tons of bronze. Pegasus will feature a 5D dome theater in a rock formation underneath it. The dragon is surrounded by musical fountains. At night the statue is home to a fountain show featuring 13 musical pieces, 350 fog nozzles, 116 water nozzles, special LED lighting and the dragon breathing fire 20 feet during the show.

Construction

The statue was announced in 2012 as part of a long-term expansion of Gulfstream Park that also included condominiums and more grandstands for the horse racing track. In 2013 further details emerged showing that Pegasus was to be in the pose of stomping on a dragon. The German bronze casting company Strassacker designed, planned and built the sculpture in cooperation with the engineering specialist Stark, the steel manufacturing company Wendeler and a Chinese bronze casting company, which was necessary to realize the high volume of bronze pieces. Construction on the site started on April 5 supervised by Strassacker and with

Skanska Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. Skanska is the fifth-largest construction company in the world according to ''Construction Global'' magazine. Notable Skanska projects include renovation of t ...

overseeing construction. The statue was pre-cast and shipped in from China in 23 packing containers and the steel beams were shipped in 23 shipping containers from Germany after being made by Wendeler. The project cost $30 million. By December 6, 2014 construction of the statues was completed with work on the surrounding landscaping and water features remaining to be done in the summer of 2015. Work on lighting for the fountain show and dragon's fire breath began in late 2015. The complex opened in spring 2016.

References

{{Portal bar, Florida, Mythology, Visual arts 2014 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Florida Buildings and structures in Broward County, Florida Colossal statues in the United States Horses in art Outdoor sculptures in Florida Sculptures of dragons Sculptures of classical mythology Tourist attractions in Broward County, Florida 2016 establishments in Florida