Champion the Wonder Horse series; he was one of several horses that Autry rode in that production. After learning about the horse through stunt man and movie horse wrangler Tracey Layne, Autry paid $75 for the original Champion, whose sire was a Morgan trotting horse from Ardmore, Oklahoma. Trained to perform numerous tricks, Champion could untie knots, fall, roll over and play dead, come at Autry's whistle, bow, and shake his head yes and no. In one film he pushes Autry into the arms of his leading lady June Storey. By 1939 his reported worth was $25,000. The original Champion died in 1943, at
The Strawberry Roan The Strawberry Roan The Strawberry Roan is a 1948 American Western film directed by John English and starring Gene Autry, Gloria Henry, and Jack Holt. Based on a story by Julian Zimet, the film is about a singing cowboy who prevents the shooting of a horse that bucked a young boy off, paralyzing him. The cowboy trains the horse hoping to return it to the boy and help him overcome his disability. Joe is paralyzed by a wild horse, a strawberry roan. His father, Walt, tries to kill the horse in anger but is unsuccessful and the horse escapes. Autry,