Because Portland Still Has Horse Hitches on the Sidewalk

Thank Tiny Horse Project for the toy ponies.

Horse-hitch Pony (Mika Rane)
By Whitney McPhie

Whoa there! What are those metal rings cemented into the curbs of sidewalks around town? The ones toy horses are tethered to? Gosh darn it, Portland ponies. You’re cute.

While horse ring hitches in sidewalks are not strictly a Portland thing (they’re in urban areas all over the country), they’re a charming reminder of when people traveled primarily by riding horses or by horse-drawn carriages. They arrived in Portland in the early 1900s, and when it became time to repair or replace the sidewalks in the ’70s, some neighborly Portlanders came together to fight to keep the rings, and won.

In another example of Portland’s togetherness, we got even more unique: The toy ponies tethered to the rings are thanks to the Tiny Horse Project, created by Scott Wayne Indiana in 2005. It would behoove you to find one and tether some of your own pony magic to keep the spirit of the 1900s alive in Portland.

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