Two Bits

From the circus to the big screen, horses have risen to the occasion!

Bareback riding and liberty acts have always been popular circus attractions. Both show off exceptional riding and training skills. In bareback riding, acrobats on draft horses perform somersaults, pyramids and Roman riding. In liberty acts a number of horses-as few as 6 or 8 or as many as 24-perform routines at the direction of a handler who has no physical contact with them. Often the horses are all stallions of the same breed or color.

Equine circus acts of the early 1800s were far more elaborate than they are today. Some of the more spectacular feats included a single horse leaping over the backs of three standing horses, a rider taking a jump while standing on the horse’s back, and Roman riding (standing up) on as many as 17 very loosely connected horses at once!

Crazy about horses? Test your knowledge with AQHA’s Junior Master Horseman program. You can even earn certificates!

Black Eagle, described as “The Horse of Beauty,” appeared with the American Circus in London in 1858. He could waltz, polka and stand upright on his hind legs. There are fewer circuses today, and they have less pull on our imaginations. But horse acts still tour the country; various Lipizzan and liberty troupes and the French-Canadian Cavalia, which has been called an equine-human ballet. This superb liberty act features white Lusitano stallions as well as Quarter Horses, Belgians and Percherons, performing to live music, without tack or whip.

The Television show Mr. Ed ran from 1961 to 1966. Mr. Ed was a talking horse, played by a paolomino Saddlebred gelding named Bamboo Harvester. The show was based on a short story by Walter R. Brooks, famous for his Freddy the Pig children’s book series.

Another poular palomino was Trigger, the horse ridden by 1930s movie cowboy Roy Rogers. Trigger, a Thoroughbred cross, played Maid Marion’s horse in The Adventures of Robin Hood, but after that he was leased to Rogers and was insperable from the singing cowboy’s image. Trigger’s successor, Trigger Jr., was no relation; he was a Tennesee Walker. Trigger had his own Dell comic book.

Gene Autry, another famous movie cowboy, had a series of blazed-faced horses named Champion. One of them, Lindy Champion, was the first horse to fly from California to New York, in 1940.

There have been many famous cowboy and horse pairs on the big screen. Visit us on Facebook and share your favorite pair with us!