When naming the most famous on-screen palominos, Mr Ed and Trigger usually enjoy top billing with viewers – but there is actually a real-life palomino who is up there and was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary.
Made by Walt Disney Productions in 1960, The Horse with the Flying Tail was the almost true story of Nautical, an American gelding who won international showjumping events after beginning life as a cow pony.
Born in 1944 in South Springs Ranch, New Mexico, he was originally registered under the name ‘Peter De Oro’ with the Palomino Horse Breeders Association. He had the ranch’s “S and spear” brand on the left side of his jaw, and when filming the documentary this was touched up with an eyebrow pencil to make it more visible.
His sire was Muchacho De Oro, a versatile Quarter Horse who competed in western events, led classes and racing. His dam, Lula Lee, was an Army Remount mare of mostly Thoroughbred ancestry.
Upon reaching age three he began cutting training but disliked it and would continually escape from his yard or paddock. The feisty palomino was on the verge of being destroyed when an ex-cavalry officer bought him and took him fox-hunting. Later, as ‘Injun Joe’, he went showjumping, proving with various riders that he could be very good – when he felt like it. But he was explosive and inclined to stop at water jumps, earning him the nickname ‘Sneaky Pete’. He gained a reputation for being temperamental, and for having a particular characteristic – a high, expressive tail. He would lift it straight up during each faultless jump and spectators relied upon this signal to record his scores without waiting for the judges’ results. Hence the film’s title.
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A lot of showjumpers do the same thing with their tails as Nautical did when clearing a jump. “My WC horse Congo Z was one of them,” says Olympian Vicki Roycroft.
He was 11 years old when in 1955 he embarked on a journey to international fame. Prominent US rider Hugh Wiley needed a horse for a European tour. He had once seen a palomino named Injun Joe perform at a show. It had won some events but was inconsistent and seemed very difficult.
However, Wiley, while on leave from the navy, went to see him again at a show in Pennsylvania. After watching the horse in one class, he knew he had to get him. “His jumps were unbelievable,” recalled the rider. “He’d jump two feet over the biggest oxer after leaving out a stride. A crowd pleaser. Fun to watch but tough to ride.”
A few days after the show the horse had a new home, and a new name – because of his naval connections Wiley called him Nautical.
At first he thought the palomino was nuts. He’d been told he thrived on work, but then he’d explode when he saw a jump. On the ground, though, he was gentle. With coach Bert De Nementhy, who believed the horse had potential, Wiley began to train him. For many months all the gelding did was flatwork. He became easier to handle, but when it was time to jump he remained unpredictable, taking off when he felt like it and totally ignoring the rider.
According to commentators he was the hottest, most difficult horse on the US Equestrian Team, which he was part of from 1955-60 – but good in speed classes where he was able to turn on a dime. De Nemethy declared: “Nautical always seemed to have one eye on the crowd, as if to say, ‘well, I got them now’.” Despite his idiosyncrasies, some health issues and several stuff-ups, Nautical became a legend on the international circuit and around the showjumping world.
Just one year into the new relationship with Wiley, while training for the 1956 Olympic Games, he was unsound with a foot ailment and was off for months. He’d developed a sand crack and the vet had to cut off most of the hoof so it’d heal. Once it regrew, he returned to work and began to settle down – a little. He went on to be part of seven Nations Cup wins, earned countless trophies around the US and racked up several titles in Ireland, Paris, and London, where one of his most memorable successes was the King George V Cup in 1959.
The latter end of Nautical’s career was highlighted by his turning in the best individual score at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago where he helped lead the US to team gold.
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According to Hugh Wiley Nautical loved to perform: “He went faster and jumped higher when he heard the roar of the crowd.”
He missed the 1960 Rome Olympics as he had developed pneumonia on a flight to Germany. Following these Games, the decision was made to end his career and he officially retired in a ceremony at the National Horse Show, Madison Square Garden, New York. He was 17.
Nautical had failures, of course, a memorable one being at the 1958 Nations Cup where America was tipped to win. He refused at a wall, knocked it down, then badly approached the next fence. He pulled the rails, threw Wiley and was heavily penalised. Germany won the Cup.
(At the same show was Snowman, who had been saved from the knackery by Harry de Leyer. He was named Horse of the Year after winning the Grand Prix. The movie When Harry Met Snowman was featured in last February’s Equestrian Life).
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Nautical’s early retirement was spent at the USET training centre in New Jersey, where he received visitors. He then moved to Wiley’s Maryland farm, occasionally making appearances at shows where he tolerantly accepted the adulation of young fans. He died aged 23.
Work began on The Horse with the Flying Tail prior the jumper’s retirement, and the picture was released in 1960. The documentary suggested he had been born into poverty and badly treated but this was a little bit of poetic licence.
It was directed by Larry Lansburgh (1911-2001) whose favourite animals were dogs and horses, which he would sometimes film from the saddle. In his social life he served as a judge at the American Royal Horse Show; and as a young man had been a Texas ranch hand. He’d broken into the movies by working in the stunt business, which he gave up after falling from a horse and severely breaking a leg. He joined Walt Disney Studios as a messenger in January 1938 and quickly moved to the editing department. “It was the best break I ever had because it put me behind the camera,” he said.
His theory was not to humanise animals. “We try to depict things as they are. We take a few liberties but, basically, animals are so interesting in themselves that we don’t have to invent situations. People enjoy an animal as an animal.”
Before winning the documentary Oscar in 1961 he was presented with the Academy’s Live Action Short Film award in 1958 for The Wetback Hound, who was Paco, owned by Mexican mountain lion hunters. After being mistreated he journeys across the border searching for a kindly master. When he saves a doe from a lion, he ensures himself a loving home in America. (Clearly Donald Trump had nothing to do with the making of this short film.)
Because of his realistic documentary dramas, Lansburgh helped Disney Studios expand beyond cartoons in the 40s and 50s. At his funeral, Disney’s vice-chairman praised his filmmaking talents: “Larry’s expertise and love for animals resulted in some of the studio’s finest and most memorable live-action productions.”
In the film various horses portrayed the palomino in different stages of his life, but it was the real Nautical who is in all scenes featuring his career highlights. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother appears on the credits although she has no scripted lines – she’s the one presenting the King George V Cup.
The Horse with the Flying Tail runs for 48 minutes, is distributed by Buena Vista Productions and can be seen on YouTube. The theme music and sound quality is dated and the narration somewhat earnest, but it can’t detract from the horse’s talent and personality. EQ
In the next Horses and Movies article, A Knight’s Tale, Columbia Pictures 2001 starring the late Heath Ledger.
For more about the other two palomino films read about Mr Ed and Trigger in the October and November 2020 editions of EQ Life.
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