Trigger! Poem by Denis Martindale

Champion and Black Beauty,
Each has their sense of duty,
And I've seen their adventures now and then!
When I tried to ride a horse!
It was mad! We went off course!
I don't think that I'll ride a horse again!

There was a horse called Trigger,
That some folks couldn't figure,
How did he get to be both strong and smart?
While Trigger was much taller,
Roy Rogers was much smaller,
And yet each had a truly noble heart!

Roy Rogers was the singer,
And also the gunslinger,
The cowboy and the hero to the end!
And while Bob Hope played the fool,
Smart horse Trigger played it cool,
And that's a fact on which you can depend!

Trigger had a winning smile,
And had tricks that could beguile,
With precious memories I still recall.
He didn't need to prove he's
The smartest horse in movies!
Of course, he was! The smartest of them all.


Denis Martindale.14th June 2026.


Here is a little tribute poem to the animal stars of films and TV shows, written by the Poemhunter poet Denis Martindale. It was written after discovering that the TV series Champion, The Wonder Horse, is available here in the UK again.

Such TV shows are nostalgic reminders of childhood, considered even more delightful during those years than they may seem to us as adults today. I can admire Flicka as another heroic horse TV series. I can smile when I remember the horse in the Cat Ballou film, as being just as much a drunk as Lee Marvin portrayed.

Trigger is more memorable to me! The Son of Paleface movie starred Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Roy Rogers and Trigger. By the way, the verse about Denis riding a horse is true! It was utter chaos, but thankfully, both lived to tell the tale!