Leading cutting horse breeder Alice Walton, 57, is the subject of a feature article in the June 18 issue of Newsweek.

Walton, daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, is building a world-class art museum in her hometown of Bentonville, in the far northwest corner of Arkansas. The museum, dedicated to American art and artists from the colonial period to the present, will encompass 100,000 square feet, with areas for outdoor concerts and public events, sculpture gardens and walking trails. The 100-acre site is located within walking distance of the Bentonville town square.

“This land has very special meaning to me because it was my childhood home,” said Walton, whose mother Helen passed away April 19, 2007 (Sam Walton died in 1992). “Our dream is to build a premier American art museum and cultural center that will serve the people of this region but also draw visitors from throughout the United States and around the world.

“My hope is that Crystal Bridges will become a special place for all who visit and they will see first-hand why this site and this region are so extraordinary.”

Walton is an accomplished horsewoman who began showing as a girl under Quarter Horse showman and trainer Kenneth Galyean, whose son Jody and grandson Wesley are both National Cutting Horse Association Open Futurity champions. Walton’s Rocking “W” Ranch, Mineral Wells, TX, is home to 2004 NCHA Horse of the Year Boon San Kitty, earner of $561,676, among many other Walton-bred champions. Last December, All Boon, a weanling daughter of Boon San Kitty, sired by Peptoboonsmal, sold for a record $750,000 at the NCHA Futurity Sales.