My Train of Thought

ROY’S PAL TRIGGER

I don’t ever recall a time when I was not enamored of the equine. As a kid, I used to watch westerns religiously –in films on the weekends as well as TV shows when they were on – for much of my existence centered on horses, horses, horses! And while I’ve loved them all, my favorite has always been the palomino. So with great delight, I’ve been glued to TCM on Friday evenings this month as the Night of the Western. Last week they started off with four Roy Rogers’ films that also featured Dale Evans in honor of what would have been Rogers’ 100th birthday. And while these may be Roy Rogers’ movies, Trigger got top billing along with him – at Roy’s insistence. What is not a well known fact is that there were actually three main Triggers used in films and on TV, along with several other “Triggers” that Roy purchased along the way.

The first one, the original Trigger (dubbed the “old man”) appeared in Cowboy and the Señiorita (1944) with the first pairing of Roy and Dale. This was not the great palomino’s first film as he was featured as Golden Cloud (Trigger’s original name), in the 1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn. Cloud was Olivia de Havilland’s mount. He was foaled in 1934, and sold to an Indiana breeder, Roy F. Cloud, Jr., who happened to manage a ranch in San Diego. He was responsible for naming the horse. Golden Cloud was then sold at the age of three to the Hudgkins Stables, in southern California, who provided livestock to the film industry. A year after the horse was in the Errol Flynn movie, he was also ridden by Gilbert Roland, an avid lover of palominos for the film Juarez. He also appeared in Joe E. Brown’s Shut My Big Mouth (1942). While Roy Rogers first took notice of the palomino in 1937, it wasn’t until 1943 that he actually bought him from Hudgkins Stables for $2,500 – on the installment plan. As to how the horse was renamed Trigger, it is said that Roy’s sidekick, Smiley Burnette, commented that the horse was “quick on the trigger”. The original Trigger had a huge white blaze that covered most of his face, extending over his left eye, and he had only one small white stocking on his left hind leg. Trigger was a real trouper – appearing in 81 of Roy’s Republic movies and all 100 episodes of the television series. Trigger was a ham, but a real professional on the set. He performed stunts that other horses would not be able to execute. One of the best films to show off his beautiful color was The Golden Stallion (1949); Trigger was 15 at the time. And according to Roy’s daughter, Cheryl Rogers Barnett, the 'old man' was used only for the movies, and not for the many other engagements where they were booked .

In between films, Roy was making personal appearances and Trigger was just as popular with the fans as he was. The grueling schedule of making movies and then traveling around the country was too much for Trigger. Roy’s solution was to purchase another palomino – this one came from Crash Corrigan and was named Little Trigger. Unlike the original, this horse had no papers so his lineage was a mystery. And while he looked a great deal like Trigger, there were obvious differences. This horse was a bit stockier, not as tall, and he was a more dappled palomino. While he had a white blaze that ran down his face, it wasn’t as wide as the “old man’s”. Last but not least, Little Trigger had four white stockings that extended up his legs. He had the distinction of being one of the first horses to be house broken! It is Little Trigger who appeared on the cover of Life magazine with Roy. He was the work horse for Trigger, the silent partner. His first film was Song of Texas (1943), however, Roy used him in some of his films, starting with Don’t Fence Me In (1945), then Heldorado (1946), and the starring role in Trigger, Jr. (1950). He was also in the Bob Hope/Jane Russell film Son of Paleface (1952). Little Trigger also appeared in The Golden Stallion with the original Trigger. One of the ending scenes shows the two palominos facing each other and here’s where you notice the different shading of their coats. Trigger appears as a more reddish bronze while Little Trigger is definitely a golden color. Ms. Rogers Barnett also stated that Little Trigger was full of mischief, and that Roy never was able to break him of being the practical joker.

As the 1940’s decade was coming to a close, Roy decided to purchase yet another palomino. This time it was a 9 year old Tennessee Walker stallion that would bear the name Trigger, Jr. Of the three, this horse had the darkest color. He also had a wide blaze on his face, though not as wide as the original Trigger. His four white stockings extended all the way up to his knees. This horse was trained to do lots of tricks and taught to dance. This is the equine that Roy used for films and appearances in the 1950s and 1960s. Trigger, Jr. was used as a stud and many of his progeny became beautiful trained horses.

There were other differences between the palominos. Roy Rogers himself described the original Trigger as a cowboy horse, meaning that you could perform any work a cowboy does with this mount. Trigger, Jr. being the registered Tennessee Walker was no good for cowboy work, but was an excellent circus horse. Little Trigger was the trickster and the one who earned the title “Trigger, the Smartest Horse in the Movies” for the original. He could perform dressage movements without a rider in the saddle to cue him. Rogers once stated that he regretted not having Little Trigger mounted the same way Trigger and Trigger, Jr. were. Poor Little Trigger died before the original did, and perhaps Roy hadn’t built the museum that would later house the other two palominos, Dale’s horse, Buttermilk, and their dog, Bullet. Still, if you believe in the Rainbow Bridge, then you’d probably see Roy and Dale with all of the Triggers running free in a pasture somewhere – waiting for the next adventure.

Happy Trails!