The Horses

The white face blaze on the original Trigger extends above one eye as shown in the photos above and below.

In their TV series of the 1950s, Dale Evans rode Buttermilk.

Roy Rogers rode a number of horses during his film and television careers --- they were all billed as "Trigger".

In over a quarter century performing in public, he used three main Palominos:

1. the original (known on movie sets as "the Old Man")

2. Little Trigger (featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1943 and in SON OF PALEFACE (1952))

3. Trigger, Jr.

The original Trigger was born in 1934 on a ranch in San Diego. (Trigger's registration form information was first published in The Old Cowboy Picture Show newsletter by Leo Pando in 2004. It was made available by Saddle Pal George Mudryj and the President of the Palomino Horse Association, Steve Rebuck.)

Roy Rogers expert Robert W. Phillips was the first to note in 1995 that the San Diego ranch where Trigger was foaled was partly owned by Bing Crosby and managed by Roy F. Cloud Jr., a breeder originally from Noblesville, Indiana. Trigger was originally named the Golden Cloud and was first owned by Mr. Cloud. At around three years of age, the Palomino was sold to the Hudkins Stables which provided livestock for the movie industry in southern California.

As a lead horse, the Golden Cloud appeared in the Errol Flynn classic ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (Warner Brothers, 1938). The young Palomino was ridden by Olivia DeHaviland/Maid Marian. Co-editor of The Old Cowboy Picture Show newsletter, Leo Pando, was the first to spot the Golden Cloud being ridden by Gilbert Roland in the black and white film JUAREZ (Warner Brothers, 1939) starring Betty Davis and Paul Muni. Eagle-eyed Trigger fan Larry Roe was first to notice the Golden Cloud in the Joe E. Brown comedy SHUT MY BIG MOUTH (Columbia, 1942).

Roy Rogers became aware of the Golden Cloud in 1937 when he was auditioning horses for his first starring feature, UNDER WESTERN STARS (Republic, 1938). Legend has it that sidekick Smiley Burnette suggested naming the Palomino Trigger after someone commented that he was "quick on the trigger".

It wasn't until 1943 that Rogers bought Trigger from Hudkins Stable for $2,500 (bill of sale provided by Joel 'Dutch' Dortch through his connection to Roy 'Dusty' Rogers Jr. and first published in The Old Cowboy Picture Show newsletter by Leo Pando in 2003). Glenn Randall, who trained Rogers' Palominos, was instrumental in the purchase and stated more than once that it was one of the best horse deals in Hollywood history.

Partially due to Trigger, Palominos became very popular and many appearing in movies in the 40s and 50s were thought to be him. The original Trigger had only a left rear white stocking. His white face blaze extends above the nostril on his near side (left side) and goes straight down covering the nostril on his far side and ends at his lip.

Trigger's bloodlines are not confirmed on his registration form. When discussing Trigger's origin in countless interviews, Rogers usually acknowledged that he was "half thoroughbred and half cold-blooded; his sire was a race horse at Caliente, and his dam was a cold-blooded palomino." According to the registration form the dam's color was chestnut.

Trigger Jr., born in 1941, was originally owned by a Paul K. Fisher of Souderton, Pennsylvania. When purchased by Roy Rogers his registered name was Allen's Gold Zephyr.

It was a common public relations claim that the original Trigger appeared in all of Rogers' films when in fact it was Little Trigger featured in the Bob Hope comedy SON OF PALEFACE (1952). With the advent of DVD and the "freeze frame" option, fans can see how often Little Trigger substituted for "the Old Man" in most of Roy's films from the early 1940s on.

The original Trigger died in 1965 at age 31 and Trigger Jr. died in 1969. Both Palominos were mounted by Bishoff's Taxidermy of California and were on display for years at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Victorville, California. The original Trigger is currently on display at The Roy Rogers - Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Missouri.

For a time Dale Evans also rode a Palomino in personal appearances named Pal. She used the same animal in a pilot for her own television series. When she appeared in THE ROY ROGERS SHOW, it was decided that using a second Palomino would be confusing. Rogers bought her a light buckskin Quarter horse gelding. Evans named it Buttermilk. It's common knowledge that Rex Allen's stallion Koko was considered as a mount for Evans but proved too spirited. The striking chocolate colored Koko was also a Glenn Randall trained horse.

Leo Pando
Updated: August, 2005

Jim Tipton's Find A Grave site has info on Trigger, Trigger Jr. and Buttermilk: