This was a good location for a hill figure, as it overlooked the valley on a steep slope about 600' above sea level, and could be seen from many miles away.

In 1954, James Smith, the head boy of the Devizes Grammar School of the time, was out cycling and believed he saw the outline of a horse on the Oliver Cromwell promontory.

In 1979, freak lighting conditions and fine snow brought the outline of the horse's neck and head into view for the first time since 1954.

A committee was set up to oversee the project, the 'Cavaliers of the Devizes Millennium White Horse', and members of the public were invited to join.

Alan Truscott, of Sarsens Housing, joined the committee as the member in charge of the surveying and pegging out of the figure of the horse on the hill, alongside did Keith Saunders of Pearce Civil Engineering, who joined to provide the machinery and manpower to complete the clearing of the top soil and the infilling of the chalk following the cutting of the outline, the cutting of which was done by hand by various groups and individuals from the local community.

[5] It was anticipated that this project will promote Devizes, its ancient heritage and the attractive countryside surrounding it, as well as to be an additional feature to the tourist map of the area.

On 20 September, the site became closed so that the sponsors of Pearce Civil Engineering could dig out the body of the horse for some several days.

Devizes White Horse has occasionally fallen into states of disrepair, with the main threat to the site being the growth of weeds.

Usually, in the dry of summer, the chalk looks lovely and white," as well as noting how "the gravel pathway leading to the mobility gate [was] so overgrown that no wheel or pushchair could go through to the seat in the field."

[13] Padwick praised the trail, writing that "A lot of people are interested in doing recreational activities like this and taking on lesser and greater degrees of walking.

[16] Peter Greed, who designed the millennium horse, died after a long period of sickness in November 2008 at the age of 73,[17] and is commemorated with a plaque on the entrance gate to Bank Field.

The time capsule, co-donated by Wessex Water, was full of oddities of local interest, while the floodlighting of the horse could be seen from miles back.

The ceremony was hosted by Sarah Padwick as well as Kelvin Nash, the Mayor of Devizes, and also involved children bringing flowers to create a garland for the white horse's neck.

[21] To celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2012, Nursteed School in Devizes unveiled a small replica of the Millennium Horse on its grounds.