This Texas Cowboy sculpture is located to the Southwest of the State Capital and is appropriate surrounded by native plants. This is the work of sculptor Constance Whitney Warren (1925) and exhibited in Paris before being presented to the State of Texas. What you see is a romantic depiction of a saddled cowboy riding a horse, which is rearing up over cactus plants, a scene one might think up when thinking about Texas during the early days. It is a nice composition and salute to the cowboys of old.

Not going to lie, I laughed when we initially came across this grandiose monument to the free Texas spirit. It is crafted with so much untamed energy it almost feels like the horse is going to leap right off the granite base and charge down the street. The one odd part of the statue is the clumped-up cactus leaves the horse is somewhat unsuccessfully trying to clear. It's a smart way to build a support base for the larger horse that ties it into the ground, but at first it kind of looks like horse droppings unless you take a moment to focus on it.The cowboy has his hat flared out, which makes me feel like it's a mix between a bronc rider at a rodeo and a cowboy on the desert sands riding out his horse. It is very ornate and well done. If you move behind it the cowboy appears to be waving towards the capitol building itself, which makes the monument even better. You have to take a picture in front of this, it is so Texas you really can't deprive yourself of the experience in seeing this up close.