Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies

A monumental sculpture of figures atop a hill just East of the I-90 freeway and a little North of the Vantage bridge across the Columbia river in central Washington. There is a scenic pull-out from the freeway from which you can view the sculpture. On the East bound pull-out, you can take a trail up to the figures. They are made of rusted steel and are much larger than one would think when viewed from the freeway. This work by David Govedare was a gift to the people by many contributors.  Atop a glorious hillside near the tiny town of Vantage, Washington and bordering the Columbia River Gorge sits a very peculiar art installation: Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies. Created by David Govedare as an homage to an ancient Native legend about how horses first roamed the earth, the exhibit is awesome though surprisingly incomplete. Originally planned as a series of horses emerging from a man holding a basket the funds ran out sometime during the process. The result: 15 horses and no man with a basket. No matter, with horses this strikingly beautiful what we do have in Vantage is breathtaking and awe inspiring in spite of its incomplete status.