Heroic Horses From TV and Film

Have a look at some of the most famous and loveable horses from both the big and small screen.

Silver

In 1933, the radio station WXYZ began broadcasting a radio show called "The Lone Ranger." In July 1933, The Lone Ranger made his first public appearance with his horse, Silver. Once "The Lone Ranger" became a film and a television series, there were two horses to portray Silver. Silver #1 was a Tennessee Walking Horse cross stallion that was chosen by Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger) in 1949 just before the launch of the television series. Silver #1 was very gentle and had an impressive rear which became the hallmark for the pair. Later on, in 1949, George W. Trendle, the owner of the Lone Ranger television show, purchased a four-year-old Saddlebred cross from a farm in Illinois. In 1952, the Saddlebred cross was shipped to California to become Silver #2. Silver #2 was trained by Glenn Randall, a famous trainer, and handler who also trained Roy Roger`s Trigger. Silver #2 was quite different from Silver #1 because he was so high strung and was quite skittish about the cameras. Both horses made appearances on the television series when particular scenes required one horse`s characteristics and demeanor more than the other.

Trigger

Roy Rogers has ridden several horses throughout his film and television career, but all of them were called "Trigger." The first Trigger was born in 1934 on a farm that was partly owned by Bing Crosby. The original Trigger was owned by Roy Cloud. Roy Rogers met the first Trigger in 1937 when he was auditioning horses for his first feature film Under Western Stars (Republic, 1938). However, he did not buy the first Trigger until 1943. Trigger #1 was trained by Glenn Randall and was said to be one of the smartest horses in Hollywood. Trigger #1 could do all types of tricks such as fire a gun, sit in a chair, untie ropes, and was able to add and subtract. Trigger #1 won a PATSY award, which is the award equivalent for animals for the Oscar) and was also the Craven Award winner in 1958. The original Trigger passed at in 1965 at the age of 33 and was mounted to be displayed at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Missouri.

Trigger #2 was an accomplished trick horse and appeared in many shows with Roy and was also posted on the cover of Life magazine in 1943 with Roy. Trigger #2 also appeared for Trigger #1 in many of Roy`s movies.

Trigger #3 was born in 1941 in Pennsylvania. He was owned by Roy Rogers and was used as a stud for many years. It is said that the horse that Val Kilmer led on stage as a tribute to Rogers during the 1999 Academy Awards show was supposedly a grandson of Trigger #3.

Fury

Fury was a black American Saddlebred that was born in 1943 in Missouri. He was bought by Ralph McCutcheon, a famous Hollywood trainer. When Fury was a little more than two years old, he starred in "Black Beauty" (1946). In 1955, he was featured in "Outlaw Stallion, " and he earned the Award of Excellence. He was featured in "Gypsy Colt" in 1956 and earned the P.A.T.S.Y. Award for his tricks such as opening doors, running to the schoolhouse to pick up his young rider, pushing his head into windows, and letting himself be chased by a group of motorcyclists.

In 1957, Fury starred with Elizabeth Taylor in "Giant" and earned a Second Place P.A.T.S.Y. Award for his performance. After he had earned this award, he became the largest equine star in Hollywood. He earned another Second Place P.A.T.S.Y Award for his performance in the film "Wild Is The Wind," in 1958. Additionally, he won a Third Place P.A.T.S.Y. Award for his television show, Fury. He was featured on several episodes of "Lassie," "Bonanza," "My Friend Flicka," "Rin Tin Tin" and the "Monkees."

Mister Ed

In 1961, CBS aired the first episode of a series that became one of the most popular series of the 1960`s. Mister Ed was born in 1949 in California. He was a parade horse and a show horse before he was bought by the Mister Ed Company.

After that, he was trained by Les Hilton. Mister Ed was intelligent and an easy horse to work with for the television series. During the series, Mister Ed rode a surf board, flew an airplane, wore a "Beatle" wig, flew a kite, talked on the telephone, drove a truck, played baseball, and delivered newspapers. He won several P.A.T.S.Y. Awards between 1962 and 1965.

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