My Train of Thought

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN WITH CHAMPION 

The only Champ I knew was the one from Autry’s TV series with the instrumental rendition of “Back in the Saddle Again” and would have Gene on Champ coming closer to the camera and then taking a bow.  The first time I saw Autry films from the 1930s, I was confused because the horse he called Champ didn’t look anything like the one on television.  In fact, there were actually seven horses billed as Champion.

Original Champion

Gene’s original horse was born around 1926.  THE Champion was a dark sorrel (copper red color) with a large white blaze that extended above the eyes.  He had three white stockings except for his right front leg.  He was christened the first “official” Champion credited in a 1935 film, Melody Trail and appeared in films until Gene went into the Army Air Corps.  He was referred to as “The Wonder Horse of the West”.  Four doubles were used in films for stunt work.  This Champion died in 1943 of a heart attack while Gene was still in the service.  He could perform some tricks such as untie knots, roll over and play dead, bow, shake his head for “yes” and “no”, and come when Gene whistled for him.

Champion Jr

The second screen horse for Autry was named Champion Jr. and was born in 1942.  This version was a slightly lighter sorrel color and his mane and tail were flaxen.  He had four white stockings extending all the way up to the knees.  While he too had a blaze, it was much thinner than the original horse and became almost like a brush stroke at the tip of his nose.  In addition to films, this horse made personal appearances with Gene.  His film premiere was in Sioux City Sue (1946) where he was credited as “Champion”.  His billing changed in Twilight on the Rio Grande (1947), Saddle Pals (1947), and Robin Hood of Texas (1947) to “Champion Jr.”.   When The Last Round-Up (also in 1947) was filmed, he reverted back to just “Champion” for the duration of his life.  While he was used at Republic Studios, he was called “Wonder Horse of the West”, however, when Autry’s dispute with the head of the studio ended in his departure for Columbia, the horse was now dubbed “World’s Wonder Horse”.  This horse was a more highly trained animal than his predecessor.  He could dance and perform a wide variety of tricks.  One of the highlights of his career was appearing in Madison Square Garden (1946).  Champ Jr. died in 1977.

Lindy Champion

Meanwhile, Lindy Champion was born on May 20, 1927, a historical day commemorating Lindbergh’s flight from New York to Paris.  He was called upon to make personal appearances rather than risk the main horse.  He was sorrel-colored, had a medium blaze down the middle of his face, which revealed a black dot on his nose and four white stockings.  He was a registered Tennessee Walking Horse.  This steed made aviation history in that he was the very first horse to make a transcontinental flight from Burbank, CA to New York.  He even made a personal appearance in Britain in 1939.  

Little Champ

Little Champ was yet another sorrel with a large blaze on his face and also had four white stockings.  His film debut came in 1948 for The Strawberry Roan, then Beyond the Purple Hills (1950) and The Old West (1952).  He was also used in five of Autry’s television episodes.  He was also a well-trained trick pony.  Little Champ appeared at Madison Square Garden in 1948 and “The Gene Autry Show” national tour in 1949.  

Touring Champion

Another horse used for personal appearances was Touring Champion.  He was a darker sorrel with a wide blaze on his face and four white stockings, similar to Lindy and Little Champ.  Gene used this horse for his rodeos and stage shows in the 1940s and 1950s.  Touring Champion was part of the 1947 Madison Square Garden appearance, as well as the England tour in 1953.  This horse’s claim to fame is that his hoof prints are the ones next to Autry’s handprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA.

TV Champion

The third “official” Champion of the screen was Television Champion.  He was a lighter sorrel than many of his predecessors with a rather white mane and tail.  His four white stockings extended to the knee like the others.  His blaze was wide and extended over his nose and the lower lip.  This Champion was in the last of Gene’s movies and was the main horse of The Gene Autry Show which ran from 1950-1955.  He also appeared in The Adventures of Champion (1955-1956).  This horse was the inspiration for the comic book series Gene Autry’s Champion.

Champion Three

Last but not least was Champion Three, another equine who never appeared in films but made the personal appearance tour in the late 1950s up to 1960.   Born in 1949, this sorrel had the same four white stockings but he was very unique.  His wide blaze extended to the left side of his face; however, there was a substantial dark spot over his left eye.  Number Three appeared on Merv Griffin and Ed Sullivan.  He was the model for the statue of Champion and Gene in the plaza of Autry’s Museum of Western Heritage.

As a group, all the horses bearing the name of Champion performed the largest number of tricks, which included hula dancing, the Charleston, jumping through rings of fire, and playing dead.  The horse received thousands of fan letters a month, which may have contributed to Gene Autry’s success as the Singing Cowboy.  And, as with Trigger, Champ was given top billing with Gene, over and above the leading ladies and the rest of the cast.

To have just one animal perform all of the stunts required, racing at full gallop repeatedly to catch up with crooks, and being pulled up suddenly would demand a super horse.  Because these horses were just as valuable as their riders, it made sense to have stunt doubles for the main or original steeds.  Such was the case with Trigger as well as Champ.  As for the greater number of horses that Gene Autry used, his shrewd business sense may have dictated that the mystique of Champion as a wonder horse would be more easily maintained by having a stable of equines that could perform just about any trick imaginable.  I’d never seen Autry and Champ in person.  From the films I’ve seen, I didn’t detect the same close relationship between this duo as I had with Roy Rogers and Trigger.  Champion just seemed like a pretty horse with fancy trappings on him.  Rogers seemed to dialogue more with Trigger and that may be one reason why I liked seeing him more than Champ.  The other thing that always bothered me was why a cowboy would use toy guns as part of his horse’s bridle.  Since they were down by the sides of his mouth, I wondered if they were uncomfortable.  And to have the pistol end sticking down, I wondered what would have happened had they gotten caught in a fence, window ledge, or stall door.  I’ve never been able to find a reason why Gene had this adornment on Champ, but in all photos and statues, they are an intrinsic part of the horse’s bridle.

Source: http://www.autry.com/geneautry/champion/originalchampion.html