Greetings family, friends, and Disney buddies! Today's rambling is about one of Walt Disney's life long interests that may surprise you...........Bill
Greetings family, friends, and Disney buddies! Today's rambling is about one of Walt Disney's life long interests that may surprise you...........Bill
Disneyana
HORSING AROUND WITH WALT DISNEY
Disney fans are keenly aware of Walt’s love for the “Iron Horse” and
the impact that railroading had on his life, career and theme parks,
however not everyone is aware of his life long affection for actual
equine. Walt was around horses during his formative years growing
up on a farm in Marceline, Missouri and made his first art sale by
sketching the Disney’s neighbor “Doc” Sherwood’s horse Rupert.
When things got busy at the studio in the 1930’s Walt took up
horseback riding and joined a local riding club for a change of pace
and a break from studio worries. Walt’s recreational horseback riding
evolved into an interest in polo and an opportunity to saddle up with
Hollywood society. He soon wrangled up brother Roy and a half
dozen studio animators to practice the growing sport at a nearby polo
field in the morning a couple days a week before reporting to work.
Walt had a polo cage and wooden horse built for practicing hitting the
wooden ball during lunch breaks and it wasn’t long before the “Mickey
Mouse Team” was ready to participate in matches with similarly
inexperienced competitors. Walt began purchasing polo ponies for
the team and at it’s peak had a stable of a dozen animals. Walt and
Roy joined the prestigious Riviera club and were playing against the
likes of Spencer Tracy, Leslie Howard, and Robert Stack, but after
taking a serious blow to the head that ultimately lead to tremendous
pain that would haunt him his entire life, Walt sold off his ponies,
resigned from the polo cub and refocused on creating classic
animated films.
One of the first structures to be completed in 1955 on the studios
newly purchased property in Anaheim was a huge barn built to hold
up to 125 livestock on a 2-1/2 acre stable area on the backstage of
Disneyland. The Circle D became the home for the Main Street
Mares, Rainbow Ridge Pack Mules and the dozens of horses pulling
the coaches and wagons on the dusty trails in Frontierland.
After sixty years, the Disneyland Circle D was relocated to a state-of -
the-art facility in Riverside County to make way for Galaxy’s Edge,
Disneyland’s new Star War attraction. About sixty cast members
provide the utmost possible care for the specially trained eighteen
Belgian, Clydesdale, Shire, Percheron and Brabant geldings and
mares that are trucked twenty eight miles to Anaheim to work three
days each week hauling the Horse Drawn Streetcars on Disneyland’s
Main Street, pulling the Cinderella Crystal Coach for themed fairytale
weddings, or participating in parades and special events
Iron horses and real horses will always be an integral part of The
Happiest Place on Earth thanks to Walt Disney’s life long interest and
a horse named Rupert.
-Bill 7/23