Trigger (horse)

Trigger (July 4, 1934 – July 3, 1965) was a 15.3 hands (63 inches, 160 cm) palomino horse made famous in American Western films with his owner and rider, cowboy star Roy Rogers.

Trigger (Golden Cloud)
Roy Rogers and costar Lynne Roberts with Trigger, in the 1936 film "Billy the Kid Returns"
BreedGrade horse
DisciplineMovie horse
SexStallion
FoaledJuly 4, 1934
DiedJuly 3, 1965(1965-07-03) (aged 30)
CountryUnited States
ColorPalomino
OwnerRoy Rogers

Pedigree

The original Trigger, named Golden Cloud, was born in San Diego, California. Though often mistaken for a Tennessee Walking Horse, his sire was a Thoroughbred and his dam a grade (unregistered) mare that, like Trigger, was a palomino. Movie director William Witney, who directed Roy and Trigger in many of their movies, claimed a slightly different lineage, that his sire was a "registered" Palomino stallion, though no known Palomino registry existed at the time of Trigger's birth, and his dam was by a Thoroughbred and out of a "cold-blood" mare.[1] Horses other than Golden Cloud also portrayed "Trigger" over the years, none of which was related to Golden Cloud, the two most prominent of which were palominos known as "Little Trigger" and "Trigger Jr." (a Tennessee Walking Horse listed as "Allen's Gold Zephyr" in the Tennessee Walking Horse registry).[2] Though Trigger remained a stallion his entire life, he was never bred and has no descendants. Rogers used "Trigger Jr."/"Allen's Golden Zephyr", though, at stud for many years, and the horse named "Triggerson" that actor Val Kilmer led on stage as a tribute to Rogers and his cowboy peers during the Academy Awards show in March 1999 was reportedly a grandson of Trigger Jr.[3]

Film career
Publicity photo of Roy Rogers and Trigger

Golden Cloud made an early appearance as the mount of Maid Marian, played by Olivia de Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). A short while later, when Roy Rogers was preparing to make his first movie in a starring role, he was offered a choice of five rented "movie" horses to ride and chose Golden Cloud. Rogers bought him eventually in 1943 and renamed him Trigger for his quickness of both foot and mind. Trigger learned 150 trick cues and could walk 50 ft (15 m) on his hind legs (according to sources close to Rogers). They were said to have run out of places to cue Trigger. Trigger became such a ham that as soon as he heard applause, he would start bowing and ruin that trick. He could sit in a chair, sign his name "X" with a pencil, and lie down for a nap and cover himself with a blanket. Roger's most carefully guarded trade secret was to get Trigger housebroken. "Spending as much time as he does in hotels, theaters, and hospitals, this ability comes in might handy and it's conceded by most trainers to be Trigger's greatest accomplishment." —Glenn Randall, wrangler with Hudkins Stables.[4]

His horse was so important to Rogers that when he purchased a "Best Wishes for the New Year" advertisement in Variety, he signed it "Roy Rogers and Trigger".[5] Trigger was ridden by Rogers in many of his motion pictures, becoming much loved by the youthful audience that saw him on film and in Rogers' 1950s television series with his wife, Dale Evans, who rode her trusty buckskin Quarter Horse, Buttermilk.

Trigger became the most famous horse in film entertainment, even having his own Dell comic book recounting his exploits.

Roy Rogers made many personal appearances with Trigger in tow. More than once, he escorted him up three or four flights of stairs at hospitals to visit with sick children, according to his autobiography Happy Trails.

Kilt

While appearing in a show at the Glasgow Empire in 1954, Trigger was presented with a kilt, the material being Dress Stewart Tartan. The kilt was presented by Jim Gordon of Thomas Gordon and Sons, and was made by Williamina McLauchlan.

Death and legacy
Roy Rogers and Trigger prints on the sidewalk in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood

After the original Trigger (Golden Cloud) died in 1965 at Rogers' new ranch in Apple Valley, California, Rogers arranged for Everett Wilkens of Bischoff's Taxidermy in Los Angeles (now Bischoff's Taxidermy and Animal FX in Burbank, California) to preserve/mount the horse.[6] The hide was professionally stretched over a foam likeness of Trigger, and the resulting mount was put on display in the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum when it opened in Apple Valley in 1967. The mount was later moved with the museum to first Victorville, California, in 1976, and then to Branson, Missouri, in 2003.

At some point, a 24-ft (7 m) replica of a rearing Trigger was produced to sit atop the Roy Rogers Museum in Victorville. The 1,300-lb (600 kg) replica could be seen from the freeway and served as a landmark until the museum closed and moved to Branson. When the fiberglass replica of Trigger was being made, Rogers was approached by the owners of the Denver Broncos. Rogers allowed another statue to be made and then broke the mold. "Bucky the Bronco", Trigger's twin, stands above the south scoreboard of the Denver Broncos' stadium.[7]

After the museum's closing in 2009, its contents were placed at public auction on July 14–15, 2010, at Christie's auction house in New York City.[8] Trigger's preserved taxidermy remains sold for $266,500 to television channel RFD-TV, which plans to start a Western museum.[9] Bob Tinsley, a Victorville developer who had built Roy Rogers' home in nearby Apple Valley, bought the fiberglass replica in April 2010. Tinsley's plan is to make the statue a part of historic Apple Valley Village. He explained, "I just couldn't see letting him go anywhere else."[10]

Selected filmography
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gollark: It can only occur in unsafe blocks. You could add those (or some pragma or something) to your borrow checker, although based on my limited C observation, hard to check constructs are much more common in it.
gollark: C also has weaker types and requires you to pass (pointer, size) to lots of things, which is also hard to check although *maybe* doable.

See also

References
Citations
  1. Witney, William. "Trigger Remembered".
  2. "More Than One Trigger?". RoyRogersWorld.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  3. Dortch, Joel "Dutch". "Trigger: "The Smartest Horse in the Movies"". Roy Rogers Estate. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  4. Miller Davis, Elise (1955). The Answer is God (1st ed.). New York, USA: McGraw-Hill Book Co. p. 50, 42. LCCN 55009539.
  5. "Best Wishes for the New Year". Variety (advertisement). 1949-01-05. p. 77.
  6. "Trigger's taxidermist now busy with TV werewolves". The Seattle Times Company. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  7. "Guide to Sports Authority Field at Mile High". cbslocal.com. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  8. "Roy Rogers Auction Features Horse Trigger's Remains". TheHuffingtonPost.com. July 9, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  9. Dou, Eva (July 14, 2010). "Roy Rogers' stuffed horse Trigger sold at auction". USA Today. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  10. Edwards, Brooke. "Trigger returns". Daily Press, May 6, 2010.
Bibliography
  • Pando, Leo (2007). An Illustrated History of Trigger, The Lives and Legend of Roy Rogers' Palomino. McFarland Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7864-6111-0.
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