Champion the Wonder Horse films from 1950 to 1953 and in all 91 television episodes of "The Gene Autry Show" and all 26 episodes of "The Adventures of Champion" during the 1950s. Throughout the years, several other "Champions" served as doubles for film stunts and personal appearances, including Little Champ, Lindy Champion, and Touring Champion. In 1940, Lindy Champion became the first horse to fly from California to New York to appear with Autry at Madison Square Garden for the World's Championship Rodeo. Touring Champion, a darker sorrel with a medium blaze and four white stockings, became one of Autry's most reliable horses for
Gene Autry's Melody Ranch Studio 10, in Chicago. There, at 4:02 minutes into the program, we hear Virginia Vass sing "Idaho". She was a regular vocalist on the "Melody Ranch" show at the time. In mid 2009, at the age of 93, Virginia recalled Gene Autry and his "Melody Ranch" show in an "Out of the Past" interview by Chuck Langdon and Lee Shephard. The most significant change in the program was to come after Gene Autry's induction into the U.S. Army Air Forces. While the format remained the same it was the theme that was modified. The name of the show was changed