WRANGLING ON THE RANGE #49
At long last in my 67 years of life I had the opportunity
while in Branson, MO, USA, observing the Feast of Tabernacles, to
get a first hand look at the Roy Rogers Museum. I never did see
Roy in any live performance when he was alive. I went with some
trepidation of sorts, for I would see first hand in the flesh the
"mounted" Trigger (to me a somewhat distasteful skinning of an
animal and putting the skin over a man made frame). I took my
time first viewing many of the "things" that made up the life of
Roy Rogers, from pictures of his parents and family, school
photos, gun collection, fancy silver saddles, decorated western
clothes, small stuff and large stuff. Interesting to a point.
Trigger? Well .... really not good at all. A poor half rear
stance, ears back, not the majestic rear we so often see in
photos when the horse was young. Color of skin ... poor also, I
mean how do you take the skin of a 31 year old palomino horse
(when he died) and make the coat color as it was when in the
horse's youth. Like people, horses when they get old can decrease
in height and body mass. And with dead skin you can only pull it
so far over a man-made frame. The mounted Trigger looked finer
boned than he really was when young. The mane on the mounted
Trigger is just about not there, the tail thin and weak looking.
Not at all like the thick full-bodied mane and tail of the
Trigger most are familiar with seeing in the movies and TV series
he made with Roy.
The mounted Trigger Jr. was not any better. Strange stance
in un-natural form even if one foreleg is outstretched, strange
looking neck twist.
Both horses in the mounted forms, you really would not look
twice at, very little beauty in them.
I maintain Roy would have done MUCH BETTER to have buried
Trigger, given him a nice head-stone, and then had a man-made,
man-materials replica made of Trigger when he was 8 to 15 years
old, with lovely strong body, that full-bodied tail, and that
gorgeous thick mane and forelock with that distinctive blaze on
his head. And Roy should have done the same with the so-called
"Little Trigger" and "Trigger Jr."
The depiction now of the original Trigger and Trigger Jr. is
a sad sight, when compared to the reality of what both those
horses looked like in their youth.
It is probably the worst mistake Roy ever made in having
those two horses "mounted." I will remember the original Trigger
from the movies and TV series, and many photos of a youthful
dynamic and pretty horse. Personally, now I've seen it with my
own eyes, the mounted Trigger horse is not the Trigger I want to
remember, not the same Trigger at all.
I've got to give "two thumbs" DOWN on that part of the Roy
Rogers Museum, which I found out while in Branson (actually when
emailing Debbie from whom I bought my golden palomino from - it
was Debbie that had been on the Roy Rogers Website and had seen
the announcement of the Museum's closing) is shutting its doors
come December 12th 2009 (see my next "diary").
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