JOHN Simpson wants to leave a mark on Warwick but he needs community help.

For 10 years, Mr Simpson, a former art teacher at The Scots PGC College, has had a dream to stop traffic in the Rose City.

His giant sculpture, which honours the role horses have played in the history and life of people on the Southern Downs, has started to come to life.

But Mr Simpson’s dream has a genuine sense of urgency: He is battling leukemia.

“The whole idea began because I was always meeting people who would say ‘oh, I’ve been through Warwick’ and I started thinking about how to make them stop and stay and spend their money here,” Mr Simpson said.

“I’m very proud of what this area has.”

The project started to take shape after a suggestion from former mayor Ron Bellingham.

“He said to me ‘John, have you ever seen the McDonald’s sign’,” Mr Simpson said.

“He was simply saying that the sculpture needed to be huge and noticeable.”

After holding a community meeting, Mr Simpson gained a Regional Arts Development Fund grant for $3600 to get the idea to production stage.

The sculpture was designed and a model painstakingly created.

“In the next two years we applied twice for a grant of $120,000 and were knocked back twice,” Mr Simpson said.

“All this left me pretty depressed, so I put the whole thing on hold.

“A few years later the enthusiasm of a friend sparked the project back to life but he fell ill and the project went back on hold again ... until now.

Mr Simpson said he would apply to the State Government for funding, with the aim of receiving $50,000.

“We’re extremely well prepared,” he said.

Even if successful, Mr Simpson will need another $50,000 to build the sculpture.

The sculpture will be an impressive 15 metres high and 18 metres wide and most of the horses will be three-quarter life size.

The project will take 448 hours to fabricate and two days to erect.

Mr Simpson is now asking the Southern Downs community for help.

To donate, go to www.gofundme.com/warwickhorse or donate at the Warwick Credit Union, Relfections of the Horse, acc 400390648, BSB 817001.