Foaled in San Diego, California on Independence Day, 1934, and originally named Golden Cloud, Trigger was a horse owned and ridden by ‘King of the Cowboys’, Roy Rodgers. Rogers, born Leonard Skye, starred in 82 Westerns between 1938 and 1951, often alongside George ‘Gabby’ Hayes as his sidekick and his wife, Dale Evans, as his leading lady. A palomino horse – that is, characterised by a golden-coloured and a white mane and coat – Trigger was ridden by Rogers in many of his films and in the Roy Rodgers Show, a television series that ran ran for six seasons between 1951 and 1957.
Although a stallion, Golden Cloud was never bred, but was understudied as ‘Trigger’ by several other palaminos, notably ‘Little Trigger’ and ‘Trigger Jr.’, although the latter only ever appeared in one film, the aptly-title Trigger Jr. in 1950, and was mainly employed for Rogers’ personal appearances around the country. Little Trigger, too, was used as a personal appearance horse, but was trained extensively and could perform dozens of tricks, routines and dressage moves; in fact, he doubled for ‘Trigger’ in every one of Rogers’ films after 1940. In his various incarnations, ‘Trigger’ became the most famous horse in the film industry and, in his heyday, appeared in his own comic book series, Roy Rogers’ Trigger, published by Dell.
Golden Cloud died in at Rogers’ ranch in Apple Valley, California in 1965 and his hide was mounted and put on display at the original Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum, as was that of Trigger Jr., following his death in 1969. Rogers himself died in 1998, Dale Evans in 2001, and the museum closed its doors for good in 2009. Nowadays, the taxidermied remains of Golden Cloud are on display at the John Wayne: An American Experience in Fort Worth, Texas, as are those of Rogers’ dog, Bullet.