Wild Horse Monument

Along the Columbia River overlooking Vantage, WA is a brilliant steel sculpture of wild horses. We've driven past this artwork perhaps a hundred times and had never stopped. On one of our recent trips across Washington to visit family we decided to stop and take a closer look.


Make the Jump for more story and pictures.

"Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies" is a steel sculpture of 15 life size wild horses built by David Govedare in 1989. It is depicting a Native American legend where the ponies were kept in a great basket until the Grandfather Spirit tipped the basket to let them run wild and spread the gift of life throughout the land. They are also built in tribute to the last wild horses rounded up here in 1906. The look as if they are about to gallop off the edge of the cliff and take to the sky.

You can hike right up to the horses if you so choose. It is a very short, but steep hike. Also getting a good footing on the dry dirt and rocks is difficult, so if you decide to go, take care.








Emma's border collie herding instincts kicked in while we were here. She kept stopping and barking, turning around to always keep an eye on the horses to make sure they were staying in their herd. We've never taught her to herd animals, but she wanted to make sure all the horses stayed together. Circling around them, running behind and in front of them like you see in so many videos of trained herding dogs. It was fun to watch.

The view from up here is spectacular, especially near sunset.

We aren't sure why people feel the need to make their mark. All of the horses are covered in graffiti. Various tags, signatures, dates, all saying "We were here!" Perhaps it is because people feel insignificant and make themselves feel better about their place in the world? Either way, we prefer to leave things as we found them.


One of the great things about having a capable off road vehicle like a Jeep is that you can follow just about any set of tracks or dirt road you see. Off to the side of the monument parking lot is a rough set of tracks leading around the back side. This took us to a view of the monument that very few ever get to see. We've put it on the list of areas to explore when we have more time. We didn't want to worry family by being more late than we already were.


The side trip was well worth it though. The road is definitely not passable by a normal car. You need high clearance as well as four wheel drive to not get stuck in the sand and rocks. But it is nice having a bit of solitude just a few hundred yards off a busy freeway.

One last picture of Emma and Jesse sitting at the feet of the lead horse. Debbie really needs a tripod and remote for her camera. She needs to be in these pictures too.  :-)

Plenty more pictures! Be sure to check them out!
Wild Horse Monument