A Roaney Scrapbook In Memory of this old horse Roaney's 43rd Birthday in 1966
(1966 photo)
Roaney celebrated his 43rd Birthday on St. Patrick's day, March 17, 1966. Actress, Quinn O'Hara & county supervisor, William M. Dorn were at the party. The graying Mustang was believed to be the oldest living horse in the United States of America and of the world. He had a 60 pound Birthday cake.
Roaney lived at William S. Hart Park
The bison were donated to Hart Park by Disney below: They are in the shade under the trees
Roaney the horse lived at the William S. Hart "Horseshoe Ranch" in Newhall, California.William S. Hart was a cowboy silent movie star. He died in 1946. Mr. Hart was close to friends Will Rogers and artist Charles Russell. The ranch is now a county park. It was 230 acres with buildings in 1960's. It was willed to be a public park by Mr. Hart.
Besides the horses, residents of the park are, goats, pigs, chickens, peacocks, deer, & bison. I took the color pictures at the park in 1970. Mr. Hart willed that Roaney should live the rest of his life at the Park & then be buried in the cemetery on the premises beside Fritz, King Valentine, & Gentle, who served the star during his movie career. Feather Merchant, 28 years old & Freak, 31 years old shared a paddock with Roaney. There is a painting done of William S. Hart and Fritz The original painting has brilliant bright colors.
About Roaney: Mr. Hart bought a new horse in 1935 to add to his string on his Newhall Ranch. Roaney was a working cow pony in Arizona. Roaney became one of Mr. Hart's favorite horses. He rode him quite often. Roaney came from Wellington, Arizona in 1935 according to Lloyd P. Hiatt, who was regional supervisor, who directed the William S. Hart Park. John Imperial, who came from same part of Arizona in 1928, was Mr. Hart's caretaker, who was still there in 1969. He took Roaney for walks down the hillside pasture each morning then put him in the corral near the park gate where he greeted visitors and accepted sugar and carrots from people. I too, saw Roaney in the corral when touring the park. He was calm, quiet & shorter than the other horses in the corral. In 1966 Roaney's once dark glossy coat had turned gray and his eye were bright and legs were strong. He eventually acquired chronic arthritis. The graying Mustang was believed to be the oldest living horse in the United States of America and of the world. Roaney lived with 12 other horses younger than he. Another horse named "Gentle" that Mr. Hart owned died in 1965 at age 39. At the age 45 on a Friday morning at 9:15 am (pacific time) Roaney passed away. He would have been 180 years old, if his life span were measured by the life expectancy terms of man. Update : May 1998 Roaney died April 26, 1968 at William S. Hart Park. Special Thanks to Mr. Leon Warden, Editor of, "Old Town Newhall Gazette" for providing the missing date.
Above: care taker, Mr. Imperial with Roaney (1966 & 1967)
Stars & Horse Stars Saddlebag Stories Story about Hart & his favorite horse Fritz
Links to some more famous horses Information on this page are from my original Scrapbook collection
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