The University of Wyoming campus is filled with plaques and statues, each with a unique meaning. One of the most noticeable, prominent, and newest is the ‘Breakin Through’ statue currently housed outside of War Memorial Stadium in the parking lot north of the Gateway Center.
Constructed of bronze, the statue was unveiled at UW on Thursday, May 14, 2015.
The rider herself is 16 feet tall and eight feet wide. The sandstone wall behind her is over 20 feet tall and 17 feet wide. The hat on the wall is also made of bronze and weighs over 200 pounds.
Mariah H. Rochelle and her daughter April Brimmer Kuntz donated $500,000 in total to help with the creation of this new art piece to display by Rochelle’s namesake, The Gateway Center. The Center was constructed to house several organizations like the UW Alumni Association and the Office of Admissions, as well as gatherings of prospective students and their parents, current students, and alumni.
D. Michael Thomas designed the statue for a competition between him and Chris Navaro that was put on by the university.
The UW Foundation Board originally only wanted one statue that represented Steamboat, the signature bucking-bronco of Wyoming.
The men had the freedom to design it however they wanted. It just had to be a powerful depiction, accessible, and photogenic from every angle.
Both did so, making small clay prototypes of their ideas. And after a viewing took place in the lobby of the Gateway Center, the Foundation Board decided both of them deserved to have a place in UW history.
Navarro designed the horse and cowgirl that sit in front of the Gateway Center, and Thomas designed the well-known ‘Breakin Through’ wall.
Thomas’ original plan was to have a man busting through the wall, but after the selection committee decided to select both, they asked if he could change the individual to a woman. He did so, and the statute has remained an iconic part of campus scenery ever since.
