Wild Horse Monument
Interstate 90, near Vantage
Vantage, WA
Fifteen life-size steel horses charge along a bare basalt ridge high above the Columbia River, one of the most-seen and most-loved pieces of roadside art in Washington.
Wild Horse Monument is the kind of sight that makes drivers on Interstate 90 hit the brakes. High on a bare ridge above the Columbia River, fifteen life-size horses appear to gallop across the skyline, cut from steel and gone the deep rust-red of weathered iron. Officially titled Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies, it is the work of Washington artist David Govedare, and it has become one of the most recognized pieces of public art in the state.
The sculpture was conceived as a gift for Washington's statehood centennial in 1989, a memorial to the wild horses that once ranged this country. Govedare imagined the Great Spirit, the Grandfather figure, tipping a great basket and releasing a herd to run free across the land above the river. What stands today is that running herd, thundering along the ridge for anyone driving the freeway to see.
What Guests Love
- A herd of galloping steel horses silhouetted against the sky above the river
- The short, steep climb up to walk right among the sculptures
- Sweeping views over the Columbia River gorge and the sagebrush country
- Catching it at sunrise or sunset, when the rusted steel glows against the light
Worth Knowing
- The horses sit on a ridge above the highway rest area, reached by a steep unpaved trail of a few hundred yards, not a drive-up view
- There is no shade and it can be very hot, windy, and exposed, so bring water and sun protection
- Wear real shoes; the path is rocky and loose, and rattlesnakes live in this country
- The work is famously unfinished, so what you see is the running herd without the rest of the artist's original vision
Details
Vantage, WA
Learn about Wild Horse Monument
The sculpture and the artist
David Govedare created the horses in 1989 and 1990, cutting each animal from half-inch panels of Cor-Ten steel, an alloy that forms a protective rust on its surface while staying strong underneath. The fifteen horses each weigh roughly a thousand pounds and are welded to steel posts set into the ridge, angled and spaced so that from the highway below they read as a single herd in full flight.
Govedare spent his career making large, spirited public sculpture around the Northwest, and this became his best-known piece. He died in 2021, and the monument stands as a kind of memorial to him as well as to the horses, a landmark that thousands of travelers pass every day on the long drive across the state.
An unfinished vision
What most visitors do not realize is that the herd is only part of what Govedare intended. His full design called for a towering woven basket, more than thirty feet tall, tipped up by the Grandfather figure with three more horses spilling out of it, the moment of release itself. The idea was to have the whole scene finished for the 1989 centennial.
The money ran out. The basket and the Grandfather were never built, and for decades the artist hoped to complete the work and never quite could. So the running horses stand alone on their ridge, a herd forever mid-stride, with the rest of the story left to the imagination. Many people find the unfinished version more haunting than the complete one would have been.
The land above the river
The ridge itself is classic central Washington shrub-steppe, a dry country of sagebrush, bunchgrass, and dark basalt that was laid down by immense ancient lava flows and later carved by Ice Age floods. Below, the Columbia River spreads wide behind Wanapum Dam, and the whole scene opens into big, uncluttered distance in every direction.
This is the ancestral country of the Wanapum and other Columbia River peoples, who lived along the river and its salmon runs for countless generations. The sculpture's imagery of the Great Spirit and the freed horses draws on that deep sense of the land as living and storied, a place where the horse transformed life on the plateau.
Making the climb
The monument is not a drive-up view. From the interstate rest area below the ridge, a steep, rocky trail of a few hundred yards climbs up to the horses, gaining enough elevation to leave most casual travelers at the bottom. Those who make it are rewarded by standing right among the galloping herd, with the Columbia River spread out far below.
It is worth timing the effort. Early morning and the hour before sunset throw long light across the rusted steel and the river canyon, and the heat of a summer afternoon eases. Wear sturdy shoes, carry water, and watch where you put your hands and feet, because this is open, rocky, rattlesnake country with no shade at all.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Vantage
Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park
About 3 miles west
One of the world's more unusual fossil sites, where ancient logs including rare ginkgo turned to stone, with an interpretive center and petroglyphs above the Columbia.
Gorge Amphitheatre
About 5 miles south
A world-famous outdoor concert venue on the bluffs above the Columbia, with one of the most scenic stages anywhere.
Columbia River at Vantage
About 2 miles west
A wide, calm stretch of the river behind Wanapum Dam, good for boating, fishing, and taking in the basalt canyon country.