Hollywood Hoofbeats. Audrey Pavia
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Corrigan, another cowboy star. Golden Cloud’s sire was a Mexican racehorse, and his dam was what Rogers called a “cold-blooded” palomino, most likely a Quarter Horse mix. At only three years old, he had already debuted as Olivia de Havilland’s mount in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). The stallion’s matinee idol’s looks and his amazingly tractable temperament marked him for stardom.
Roy Rogers once said, “I got on [the horse that was to become] Trigger and rode him down the street and back. I never looked at the rest of them. I said, ‘This is it. This is the color I want. He feels like the horse I want, and he’s got a good rein on him.’ So I took Trigger and started my first picture.”
According to Cheryl Rogers-Barnett, Roy’s eldest daughter, “Dad always told me there was a genuine connection between the two of them, right from the first time he sat in the saddle. Dad had a gift for handling most animals, but he said there was some sort of instant communication between him and Trigger. In Dad’s case, it was love at first sight.”
Golden Cloud became Trigger when Rogers and his comic costar Smiley Burnette were brainstorming to find a more fitting name for a cowboy’s horse. “The name came up when we were getting ready to do the first picture,” Rogers once explained. “I believe it was actually Smiley who said, ‘As fast and as quick as the horse is, you ought to call him Trigger. You know, quick-on-the-trigger.’ I said, ‘That’s a good name.’ And I just named him Trigger.” The naming scene is recreated in My Pal Trigger (1946), which depicts the fictionalized birth of the stallion.
Roy and Trigger are hellbent for justice in 1951’s South of Caliente.
Costarring with Rogers in Under Western Stars (1938), Trigger, who had just turned four, was indelibly linked to the actor’s success. Realizing Trigger’s long-term value, Rogers arranged in 1938 to purchase the palomino from the Hudkins brothers for $2,500. It was a huge sum for Rogers on his meager salary, but Ace Hudkins agreed to let him make payments. It took several years before Rogers owned Trigger completely, but he never doubted his investment.
Rogers put Trigger in training with Glenn Randall, who schooled him at liberty and taught him some basic tricks, including how to rear. The stallion had tremendous strength and could hold a spectacular rear far longer than most horses. He also had great stamina and carried Rogers through many chase scenes. In one movie, Rogers and Trigger jumped a series of 50-gallon drums that rolled off the back of a truck they were chasing. Although unrehearsed, Trigger negotiated the jumps in one take. Billed as the “Smartest Horse in Movies,” he was easily the handsomest. Whether galloping pell-mell with his beautiful long mane flying in the wind or just standing by waiting for action, he was always a magnificent sight.
Trigger performing his trademark rear as trained by Glenn Randall, with cool-as-a-cucumber Roy Rogers resplendent in eye-catching fringed duds designed by Nudie, the famed Cowboy Couturiere, striking the iconic pose that captured the imaginations of millions of wanna-be cowboys and cowgirls.
Billed as the “King of the Cowboys,” Rogers was an excellent horseman. He did running mounts and dismounts on Trigger, who took it all in stride. Like most star horses, Trigger had doubles for dangerous stunts and rough-riding long shots. Contrary to rumors that Rogers owned many Trigger doubles, these horses were rentals from Hudkins or Glenn Randall. The good care Trigger received and his overall hardiness meant a horse that was never lame.
Rogers never gelded Trigger for fear of dulling his famous spark, yet never bred him either. According to Roy’s son Dusty Rogers, “Dad was afraid to breed because he was worried that Trigger might decide he liked breeding better than making movies.”
Like his famous predecessors, Fritz, Tony, and Champion, Trigger inspired movies that revolved around him. One of the most beloved was The Golden Stallion (1949). Trigger costarred with Roy Rogers in eighty-two movies between 1938 and 1953. Together they made the transition from film to television in December 1951 with the debut of The Roy Rogers Show. Trigger costarred in all one hundred episodes.
Rogers made the most of their fame. Roy Rogers’ and Trigger’s names and likenesses appeared on sixty-five products marketed in 1949. Roy Rogers’ Trigger, a Dell comic-book series based on the palomino’s escapades, sold millions of copies.
Trigger and Roy Rogers inspired scores of toys, such as this one.
Trigger worked well into his twenties and was eventually retired in 1957 at the Rogers’ ranch. After he died on July 3, 1964, at the age of thirty-three, Rogers had him mounted so the public could view Trigger at the Roy Rogers–Dale Evans Museum.
Little Trigger and Trigger Jr.
A couple of years after he acquired Trigger, Roy Rogers purchased another blaze-faced palomino stallion, known by insiders as Little Trigger (aka the Little Horse). A Morgan, this horse was smaller than Trigger (who then became known to the Rogers and Randall families as Old Trigger) and lighter in color. He had four white stockings. Seen on his own, however, Little Trigger looked enough like Old Trigger, with his handsome body and long flowing white locks, that he could pass for the original. He was presented to the public as simply Trigger. Just as Gene Autry always had one Champion, Roy Rogers perpetuated the myth of one Trigger and never mentioned Little Trigger in an interview.
Little Trigger was, according to both Rogers and Glenn Randall, truly the smartest horse in movies—or anywhere else for that matter. Highly intelligent, he learned quickly and retained more than a hundred cues for tricks and dances. Most astonishing of all, he was housebroken, a quality that allowed him to accompany Rogers on his many appearances in hospitals to visit sick children and into fancy hotels without worrying about an embarrassing mishap. He is the only celebrity horse of record who could accomplish this feat.
Little Trigger was also notoriously ornery and quick to show his displeasure by biting. According to Cheryl Rogers-Burnett, he didn’t like kids or women, which is ironic considering they composed much of his fan base. He did love the spotlight, however, and he knew that as long as he was performing in front of a crowd, Rogers wouldn’t discipline him. On one occasion, Little Trigger ruined a dramatic routine during which he and Rogers played dead. The stallion tried to sneak out of the stadium as the houselights were dimmed, leaving Rogers lying alone in the middle of the arena. The actor grabbed for Little Trigger’s reins and found his saddle horn. When the houselights came on, Little Trigger was gleefully galloping around the arena with Rogers hanging off the saddle. Furious, the actor intended to reprimand Little Trigger backstage and backed him into a corner. However, when Rogers approached the horse, the wily stallion started desperately going through his tricks, finally sitting down and bowing his head in prayer. Instead of punishing Little Trigger, Rogers cracked up laughing, along with the cowboys who had witnessed the amazing display.
Little Trigger doubled Trigger in dancing sequences in Don’t Fence Me In (1945). He also masqueraded as Trigger in the 1952 musical comedy Son of Paleface, starring Rogers, Bob Hope, and Jane Russell. He danced and performed many tricks, including untying ropes, running up a staircase, and sharing a bed with Hope, fighting over the covers. “Trigger” stole the show and won a PATSY, the American Humane Association’s version of the Academy Award, for his work.
Rogers and Little Trigger toured the country regularly, but their most famous appearance—and most notorious publicity stunt—took place in New York City during a 1944 Madison Square Garden engagement. Rogers led the stallion into the lobby of the Hotel Astor and offered him a pencil. Holding the pencil in his teeth, Little Trigger marked “X” on the guest register. Later, he attended a cocktail party honoring him in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom.
According to trainer Buford “Corky” Randall, son of Glenn Randall, Little Trigger lived well into his twenties and was