My husband and I have noticed that some of the big stars rode the same horses in a lot of their movies. Were these their own mounts, or did the film companies supply them?
Susan Short
Rothbury, Michigan
Most people know that Roy Rogers rode Trigger, Gene Autry rode Champion, Rex Allen rode Koko and Tom Mix rode Tony. In all of these cases, the actors owned their trusty steeds. Some studios did require that actors provide their own horses.
Yet you may not know the favorite horses of actors like John Wayne (Ol’ Dollor), Randolph Scott (Stardust) and James Stewart (Pie).
Sometimes an actor grew attached to the horse he was riding in a film and bought it from the owner. In other cases—like Jimmy Stewart—he required that the studio provide a specific horse for a movie. The Duke’s production company bought Ol’ Dollor and used him from True Grit to The Shootist, Wayne’s last film.
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