Celebrating the life of Elvis and his love for horses on Raceclubs.com

Why Elvis 2012? 

Elvis may have left the building but his spirit will always be remembered by the virtual horse racing community on RaceClubs.com for his contribution to music and for his deep love for horses. 

You might be wondering why RaceClubs.com created a whole day of virtual horse racing commemorating Elvis’s birthday. Turns out “The King” was also passionate about horses and racing them. According to the race Programmer, that story begins in in 1966 when Elvis asked Jerry Schilling if it would be alright to buy a horse for his girlfriend, Sandy Kawelo, because he also wanted to buy one for Priscilla, and wanted her to have someone to ride with. Knowing Elvis as he did, Jerry suspected the gifts would set the stage for Elvis to get back in the saddle himself.He had had a horse run away with him in one of his early films and he was uncertain about getting back on a horse. 

Jerry remembers horse shopping with Elvis. Though he didn't know anything about horses, Jerry got to be the test pilot. Finally, after a lot of laughing and looking, a four-year-old, black, Quarter Horse named Domino was purchased for Priscilla, and a light cream-colored horse, named Sheba, for Sandy. Priscilla turned out to be a natural, graceful rider and often rode around the grounds bareback. 

Soon Elvis was on a quest for a horse of his own, but finding just the right horse wasn't easy. The first horse he bought was gentle, and helped Elvis regain his confidence, but he soon got bored with it. 

In the documentary Elvis, By the Presleys, Priscilla Presley recalls those days, “He wanted a golden palomino. He would get up at 3:00 in the morning; go to certain farms and ranches and say, 'Do you have a Golden Palomino for sale?' People would say, 'that was Elvis Presley'”. 

As word of their horse buying got out, Jerry was approached by Robert Boyd about a horse he had for sale, a big, beautiful, palomino Quarter Horse, ridden and shown at the time by Boyd's 12-year-old daughter. Elvis bought the horse on the spot. Renamed Rising Sun, the horse became Elvis' personal mount, and the horse barn soon bore the name House of the Rising Sun. 

Elvis rode hard, but cared deeply for his horses. Elvis bought more horses - and then trucks and trailers - for his friends and bodyguards. Priscilla remembers playfully, 'It didn't matter if you wanted one or not, you were getting a horse!' Jerry was the official test rider for each one, finally claiming a big, friendly black horse with a white spot on his face as his own. 

Other horses brought to Graceland or the Circle G included Colonel Midnight, a black Tennessee Walking Horse bought for Elvis' father, Vernon. The horse belonged to Ruth Spence, who did not want to part with him, but Elvis made an offer her husband couldn't refuse and the horse was sold. 

He was renamed in honor of Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis' manager. A favorite was Bear, a fully trained, flat-shod, Tennessee Walking Horse. Another, favored for her speed over her looks, was a grade mare, Elvis named Mare Ingram in honor of Memphis Mayor William B. Ingram. The Mayor was slow to have something in Memphis named after Elvis, eventually renaming a portion of U.S. Hwy 51 (that runs past Graceland) Elvis Presley Boulevard, but not before Elvis had named the mare in his 'honor'. 

Other horses were Beauty ; Big Red (bought for Red West, Elvis' bodyguard and friend); Buckshot (named after Wild Bill Hitchcock's horse); El Poco ; Flaming Star ; Golden Sun ; Lady ; Moriah (Lisa Marie's pony); Memphis (Tennessee Walking Horse); Scout ; Star Trek ; Sundown ; Thundercloud and Traveler (who had belonged to Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul and Mary). 

 

'He loved the way they moved, that whole gait. He just thought it was quite beautiful. In my home movies there is a shot of him on Colonel Midnight, riding along a white board fence. He just thought it was a marvelous thing to watch and ride a Tennessee Walking Horse'. 

Elvis got into horses like he got into everything; he eased into it right over the top. In Me and A Guy Named ElvisJerry tells how the interest escalated to excess – in typical Elvis fashion. 'Elvis being Elvis, almost every day we were taking another trip somewhere to buy another horse', he says. Elvis spent nearly a million dollars in just a few weeks'. Movie roles and home videos reveal an extremely confident rider with the balance, seat and hands that only time in the saddle can produce. 

After a hard ride, Elvis would walk his horse three times longer than necessary to cool him out, just to be sure the horse was safe to return to pasture. He was fastidious about the barn area, and personally marked each person's tack hook and stall … Daddy's, Priscilla's, Mine… The labels remain in the barn to this day. 

Sometimes Elvis would ride down to the gates of Graceland and show off for his fans, sit and chat from the saddle, and sign autographs. Then to their gasping admiration, he'd take off on Rising Sun at a dead gallop back towards the barn. Elvis was so attached to Bear, a Tennessee Walking Horse, that when the horse died while Elvis was on tour, no one would tell him until he got home, fearing how the news would devastate him. 

The horses were a great escape, though unlike most horsemen, Elvis and his friends were denied the simple freedom of trail riding off the ranch. 'We never went anywhere in public; we couldn't', Jerry says. 'Even to go to the movies we had to wait til midnight and then rent the entire theater'. Like every other aspect of 'Elvis time' horseback riding often happened at odd hours. 

To keep the spirit of Graceland alive as it was in Elvis' time, there will always be horses. 

 

Information source: elvispresleymusic.com.au

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