By Darlene Cah
Key Takeaways
Most know of Audie Murphy’s rags-to-riches story, his incredible bravery in World War II, earning him the honor of being the most decorated American combat soldier of that war, and his rise to Hollywood fame in Western movies such as Ride a Crooked Trail, Gunfight at Comanche Creek, and No Name on the Bullet, among others. One would expect a famous cowboy actor to be able to ride, and work around horses with confidence. In fact, many actors were real-life cowboys and rodeo competitors. But Murphy’s introduction to riding was not sitting astride a stocky, well-broke Quarter Horse driving cattle on a working ranch—even though he was a native Texan.
Murphy was born in 1925, to Texas sharecropper parents. He was the seventh of 12 children, and the family lived in abject poverty. On the popular human-interest TV show, You Asked for It, hosted by Jack Smith in the late 1950s, Murphy, who by then was a star with a large horse ranch, talked about his less than elegant beginnings on horseback.
“On the farm back in Texas in the early days, we had plow horses and we used to sneak them out and go to the pasture on Sundays and race them, but actually, I didn’t get acquainted with a well-bred Quarter Horse until after World War II.”
Murphy was not one to dabble. When he committed to a project or goal, he jumped in 100 percent, sometimes to his detriment, but in terms of horses—especially the American Quarter Horse, that meant a stable filled with working Quarter Horses, champion show horses, and racehorses, schooled by the best trainers around.
While Murphy enjoyed watching his horses win on the track, even riding in amateur races himself, or seeing them collect ribbons and trophies in the show ring, he also rode many of his own horses in his movies and on TV.
One of his favorites was Joe Queen, a racehorse he purchased in the mid-50s from breeder Bill Horton. Murphy hired renowned horseman Harold Farren to retrain Joe Queen as a show horse competing in stock horse trials, in both “dry” routines (without cows), riding patterns, figures, sliding stops, and spins—the equivalent of today’s reining events—and stock horse work, essentially today’s cutting horse competitions. The horse excelled. Though it’s said that Murphy rode Joe Queen in movies as often as he could, a list of the Westerns in which he rode the horse is lacking—except for a mention of Murphy riding Joe Queen in the less-than-well-received TV series, Whispering Smith. In fact, Joe Queen was way too fast for his equine co-stars, and Murphy ended up replacing him with a slower horse.
On the other end of the spectrum is Flying John, another of Murphy’s favorite Quarter Horses. Little is known about the horse’s background except that he was born in 1950, according to allbreedpedigree.com. Contrary to Joe Queen, there are several photos of Murphy riding Flying John in his movies, including Ride a Crooked Trail, The Quick Gun, Night Passage, and Drums Across the River, among others. It’s hard to miss the flashy Quarter Horse with lots of chrome. His wide long blaze and hind stockings made him a standout on screen.
Murphy was considered one of the best riders among the Western actors of his era, ranking high among respected horsemen, such as Ben Johnson, Joel McCrea, John Wayne, and Randolph Scott.
“I never get tired of talking about the Quarter horse,” Murphy said, “He’s the ‘workingest’ horse in the world.”
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