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'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