Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies, Steel horse sculpture in Vantage, US.

Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies is a line of fifteen life-size horses made from half-inch-thick COR-TEN steel panels, each weighing about 1,000 pounds and welded to four-foot metal poles set into a ridge above the Columbia River near Vantage. They appear to gallop away from a basket that was never built.

David Govedare conceived the project in 1986 as a centennial gift for Washington's statehood and a memorial to the wild horses that once roamed the region. The ridge near Vantage Bridge was chosen because the last great roundup of Washington's wild horses took place there in 1906. The first six horses were installed in October 1990, with nine more added over the following months; the planned 36-foot basket was never built for lack of funds.

The work's full title comes from a tale Govedare wrote himself, not from indigenous tradition: the Grandfather Spirit tips a Great Basket and releases the ponies to inspire free will. The basket, meant to be decorated with people, leaping salmon and running deer, was never built for lack of funds.

The sculpture is reached via a rough footpath from the east-bound side of Interstate 90 near Vantage; the path climbs to the top of the ridge. For a distant view, Wanapum Vista on I-90, three miles east of Vantage, is recommended by the guidebook Washington Curiosities. The ridge is exposed, so wear sturdy shoes and take care in wind.

The fifteen horses are cut from half-inch-thick COR-TEN steel panels and each weighs about 1,000 pounds. They are welded to four-foot metal poles driven into the ridge. The planned 36-foot basket that was to hold two horses and release the others was never built; by 2008 its cost was estimated at $350,000.