Posts from jessie in thread „Duke's Movie Horses“

    Boys, I am spankin new around these parts. It was June of 1962 and it just so happened that Liberty Valance was playing the week of my birthday. That is all I wanted for my birthday, to see old Duke and Jimmy on the big screen, and I have never forgotten him, Jimmy or that classic in 41 years. Now there is a great deal about everything that I don't know, beit Duke or anything else in life, except horses. I read with keen interest a story of old Beau still being alive a few years ago and that really caught my interest! True Grit was filmed in 1968 and if Beau had been a colt, say a four year old and new to movies and True Grit was his first film, that would have made him foaled in 1964. If he was still alive two or three years ago that would have made him 36 or 37 years old. Most horses live to be 27 to 30 before their organs shut down. Their are exceptions to the rule, their always is. Duke stated in an interview that the Walker he was riding in True Grit, in his own words... Just blew up! and he was replaced. You couldn't twirl a winchester and have the first Beau stand in his tracks. The second Beau has the blaze and stockings, but he is more red, while the first horse shows a roan cast to him. Duke only admitted to owning one horse in his name. A little Quarter Horse that the papers were in the name of John Wayne. Duke was a good rider. He didn't love horses, but he didn't hate them either. The horse Cochise from El Dorado was owned by Howard Hawks. Duke said that it took a lot of arm muscle to back him out of Ed Asners ranch. Banner was the horse at Republic that Duke rode the longest. Alamo was in The Alamo and his main mount in McLintock. Of course Dollor came along with Big Jake and except for the mule in Cahill U.S. Marshall, Duke never climbed aboard another horse, just ol Dollor. Now to my question. In The Searchers, The Horse Soldiers and Liberty Valance you see Duke mounted on a tall, very fast sorrel horse with a blaze with a tiny red spot in it. Duke only rode him in the three John Ford films and for no one else. It's like pappy Ford instructed Duke to ride this one special mount. The running insert where Duke rides and fires as he attacks the Indian village is one of the fastest galloping inserts ever filmed with a major star. Clint Eastwood never in his career rode that fast.I want to know the name of that horse and I have wanted to know for years. The Searchers is one of the greatest films of the Twentieth Century and I don't know the name of the horse that the greatest western star rode! He looks to have Thoroughbred blood in him and he was truly magnificent! Well old Quirt is your latest addition to a board that means a great deal to me. I will read every word typed for Duke and Jimmy Stewart are my two all time favorites and westerns in general are my cup of tea. Thank you for your time!



    Gee, i soooo enjoyed reading that post, fantastic, this is such a great site !!!

    And i think it was " El Dorado " where they put him on the Appaloosa named "Cochise" he was way too small for him, wonder why they did that.

    Well i think he must have had some affection for them as he spent most of his early life and career aboard one.

    Am just reading this book and was interested to read that the Author has included a quote from JW

    "Iv never really liked Horses and i daresay not many of them really liked me too much "

    Ref: page 12

    There was another too but iv lost the page, i have to say i'm pretty surprised aobut that.