In a small town somewhere between Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, a graveyard exists surrounded by farmland, a little plot of land with dozens of rocking horses cast about. Supposedly, nobody knows how they got there, nor who rearranges them every so often. Welcome to Ponyhenge.
Since 2017, I have been making regular visits here every few months. Most times, the horses are arranged differently each visit, usually in circles, other times in columns and rows. Sometimes they are decorated for holidays with garland wrapped around them, other times they have hats and scarves during winter, and some wore facial masks during the pandemic years.
It started around 2010 with unconfirmed reports of how it began. Since then, people have been bringing rocking horses to the site. Some have clearly been found in the basement of old family homes, others are in tribute to children who passed too young, and some artists have used it for projects like the Gene Simmons horse that had a limited appearance.
Technically located on private property, it’s open to the public for viewing. Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm borders the graveyard with the Bay Circuit Trail passing through Ogilvie Town Forest.
