Today is the first time that I have found this site and registered right away, this message board will be a lot of fun to use.

I am big into horses, it's become an obsession actually, and I have always noticed the horses the duke rides in the movies. They are always stunning animals, always very large and powerful, but I have noticed that he doesn't often refer to them by name. Save a few:

In El Dorado he calls his horse Cochise
In True Grit he rides Bull
In The Shootist he rides Dollar

If anyone can let me know of any other names of horses and which movie they're from I'd appreciate it, I'd like to eventually have all my horses named after the one's in his movies.

thanks,
Idaho

The horse in "True Grit" is named Beau (or Bow or Bo; no way of knowing the spelling without seeing the original script). It comes up first about half way through the movie, when Mattie asks Rooster about his life before becoming a marshall. He mentions the horse's name again in the very last scene, while telling Mattie about buying his new horse.

The horse used in that movie was in retirement on a ranch up in Oregon, as of three years ago. Don't know it's current status.

Chester

chester

Thanks for your reply, I guess I always just heard it as "bull" in True Grit not "Beau." But I am glad to be corrected.

Idaho

That big white one he rode in the 30's was named ............DUKE! :o

REASR

You wouldn't happen to know what movies he rode this horse you said was named Duke do you? Just so I could try and see it.

Idaho

Banner was his own horse which he rode in most of his movies in the 40s till the horses death in 1952.

It is my understanding that riding was not one of his favorite hobbies. Generally the horses have been secondary to the story. He had a cattle ranch in Arizona. One year while driving to the ranch an Arizona Highway Patrolman issued him a traffic citation. I cannot believe that a policeman would do that. It would have been such a thrill to just talk with him a ticket wouldn't even be thought about.

There is a book called "There Rode a Legend...." Which tells about JW's life and focuses on the western movies he made and the cattle ranch he owned. It also has a section on the horses that JW rode in his western movies.

Idaho,

I watched Somewhere in Sonora last night. It was made in 1933. When the movie title comes on it says with Duke, meaning the horse. I believe his movies during this time frame had Duke the horse in them. Others are Telegraph Trail, Riders of Destiny, and Ride Him, Cowboy.

Hello All
Thought I would bring this one up as the theme overlaps another one.

Originally posted by kilo 6@Sep 9 2005, 06:31 AM
Hello All
* * * * * Thought I would bring this one up as the theme overlaps another one. Come to think of it if you read this senta, you were saying you had missed the other thread, perhaps you could search with the word 'horses'.
21310

Kilo, thanks,
it is interesting to me. By the way what horse he ride in The Ouiet Man?
Regards,
Vera