Grizedale Horse

Sophie Ryder – Grizedale Tarn – 1986

Photograph taken October 1994 courtesy of Susan Smith and Jenny

Material: Stone, Concrete

Trail: Grizedale Tarn Trail

Theme: Nature

Form: Figurative – Horse

Maps Featured on: 1987 – 1989

Status: Removed, no remains

Listed on the 1986 & 1988 maps, by Grizedale Tarn. A small description of it from The Architects’ Journal, Volume 187, 1988.

“We hunted for Sophie Ryder’s Grizedale Horse, expecting to find a bold equestrian in the woods, but her horse, sculpted in concrete and local stone, was reclining inconspicuously at the base of a rock outcrop and seemed to have been formed from the bedrock itself.”

The rock outcrop here is the large one to the west of the tarn. Being made of concrete and local stone I would have thought it would remain for quite a while. It does seem to have lasted longer than the maps say as the photo above was taken in 1994. The carving is quite subtle. The horses face can clearly be seen, it’s legs curled up under itself. It would easily have been overlooked especially as by 1990 it was no longer listed on maps.

The archive mentions a possibility this work was in conjunction with the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Other work by this artist –

Grizedale Stag – 1986

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Artist’s Website: www.sophieryder.com/

Page last updated November 2021