VANTAGE — Running along the ridge, the horses’ manes whip in the wind. Their muscular bodies are silhouetted against the blue sky.
But these horses never move. They remain on the ridge, captured in mid-stride, part of a monumental public-art project near Vantage on a hill overlooking I-90.
It has been nearly twenty years since the first 1,200-pound steel horse was bolted into place, and the project, “Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies,” is only half finished. State officials have had trouble finding the money to complete it.
The 15 galloping horses are supposed to be running out of a 25,000-pound, 36-foot-diameter steel basket.
The artist, David Govedare, of Chewelah, Wash., sees the ponies as a gift from “Grandfather Spirit.” The horses have been contained in a “Great Basket,” but then Grandfather Spirit tipped the basket, cutting them loose to spread the gift of life.
The installation is also located in the area where the last grand roundup of wild horses happened in 1906, and is an homage to them, according to the 57-year-old artist. The first horse was erected in August 1989.
State Sen. Chris Marr, a Spokane Democrat, would like to see the state pay to finish the project, estimated to cost $350,000.
A formal funding request from a nonprofit group would help, he said.
John Roskelley, a former Spokane County commissioner and a member of the Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board, has for years tried to find money for the project.
Since the horses were installed, some 100 million vehicles have driven past, based on state Department of Transportation figures.
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