Champion the Wonder Horse public appearances. Autry paid $1,500 for the horse, which was part Morgan and part Tennessee Walking Horse. Touring Champion is seen in several scenes of "Gaucho Serenade" (1940), including the "Song at Sunset" scene with Mary Lee, and appeared with Autry in rodeos and stage shows throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, including an appearance in England in 1953. His hoof prints appear next to Autry's handprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. It is not known when Touring Champion died. Champion Three, a sorrel with four white stockings and a crooked blaze, appeared with Autry at personal appearances
Gene Autry in more than 40 films and in over 100 episodes of Autry's television show In the "Motion Picture Herald" Top Ten Money-Making Western Stars poll, Autry was listed every year from the first poll in 1936 to 1942 and 1946 to 1954 (he was serving in the AAF 1943–45), holding first place 1937 to 1942, and second place (after Roy Rogers) 1947 to 1954, when the poll ceased. He appeared in the similar "BoxOffice" poll from 1936 to 1955, holding first place from 1936 to 1942 and second place (after Rogers) from 1943 to 1952. While these two polls are