Built from old pieces of machinery, worn tools and the rusted remains of weapons found beneath the earth, a striking sculpture is quietly celebrating its first anniversary.<\/p>\n
At first glance, it\u2019s just a life-size pony. But take a closer look and you\u2019ll see it\u2019s something much more.<\/p>\n
The Shorne Pony sculpture stands in front of the visitor\u2019s centre at Shorne Woods Country Park<\/p>\n
Every nut, bolt and plate of the \u201cShorne Pony\u201d tells a story about people who dug clay, hauled timber and shaped the land with their hands.<\/p>\n
The sculpture now stands at the entrance to Shorne Woods Country Park, on the edge of the Kent Downs near Gravesend, a protected landscape known for its natural beauty.<\/p>\n
It was created by artist Steve Portchmouth, who used only materials unearthed on site.<\/p>\n
That includes everything from military scrap to Tudor tools, all of it found beneath the surface or rescued from the park\u2019s archaeological store.<\/p>\n
It has become a favourite sight for visitors of all ages.<\/p>\n
The sculpture includes everything from military scrap to Tudor tools<\/p>\n
Park user Tom Garner summed it up simply. \u201cIt\u2019s like walking past history in 3D,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His son Oscar, seven, looked at the sculpture and added: \u201cThis statue reminds me of a horse Transformer.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike it could come to life and start moving any second.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Steve Portchmouth sorted through the old pieces, he saw a story taking shape. It was a story of hard work.<\/p>\n
People clearing woodland, digging clay, farming the land, building paths and roads.<\/p>\n
A Clay Work trail exists in Shorne Wood Country Park<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019ve ever worked in forestry or land management, you know how hard it is,\u201d the artist said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I asked myself, what could show that kind of labour?<\/p>\n
\u201cA draught horse felt right. It\u2019s strength, endurance, history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Portchmouth built the horse using a strong metal frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the internal skeleton,\u201d he explained. \u201cAround it, I placed all the machinery and metalwork we found.\u201d<\/p>\n
An early stage of the Shorne Pony sculpture, showing its internal frame and raw materials<\/p>\n
He covered it with real objects found nearby, pieces of quarry equipment, military scrap, and even tools from Tudor times.<\/p>\n
Then he mounted it all on the horse.<\/p>\n
These items were uncovered by the Shorne Woods Archaeology Group, a team of volunteers guided by archaeologist Andrew Mayfield and other specialists, who have been digging and researching the park since 2006.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took practically the entire contents of the park\u2019s archaeological store,\u201d the artist added.<\/p>\n
Steve Portchmouth\u2019s original sketch for the Shorne Pony sculpture<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, I used more than what was already in storage. We had to go out and dig up even more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Portchmouth, who has his studio in Higham, moved to Kent as a boy and has lived and worked here ever since.<\/p>\n
Speaking about his work on the Shorne Pony and its impact a year on, the artist said: \u201cThe whole project was brilliant. Genuinely fascinating.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just about making a sculpture. It was about preserving memory in a physical way. Like a museum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Artist Steve Portchmouth said he thoroughly enjoyed the project<\/p>\n
The Shorne Pony artist is known for bold animal sculptures made from wood, reclaimed metal and salvaged objects that reflect Kent\u2019s industrial and rural past.<\/p>\n
His best-known works include the Tannery Field Bull in Canterbury, built from steel rails to honour the area\u2019s tannery and railway heritage.<\/p>\n
The sculptor also created the Sleeping Monk on the Pilgrims\u2019 Way, positioned along the historic walking route.<\/p>\n
In Shorne Woods Country Park, visitors can spot several of his creations, including a series of animals along the Animal Sculpture Trail, the Green Man, the Big Hand with Flint, and the Circle of Fairies.<\/p>\n
The Shorne Pony celebrated its first anniversary at the park in Spring 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Built from old pieces of machinery, worn tools and the rusted remains of weapons found beneath the earth,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,4022,77,728,18942,609,495,18943,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-315107","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-design","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-gravesham","14":"tag-human-interest","15":"tag-kent","16":"tag-quirky","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114966040651063964","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}