Glenn H. Randall Sr.; Horse Trainer
Glenn H. Randall Sr., who trained horses ranging from cavalry mounts to Roy Rogers’ palomino, Trigger, and other Western movie horses, has died at his Newhall residence. He was 83.
A longtime Newhall resident, Randall died Tuesday of cancer, said his wife, Lynn Randall.
Born on Christmas Day, 1908, in Melbeta, Neb., Randall began training horses at age 9 and by his early teens was breaking and training horses and mules for the U.S. Cavalry at Fort Robinson, Neb. In the early 1940s, he moved from Wyoming to Bakersfield, to manage a large horse ranch.
He soon met Rogers, who hired him to train Trigger, Randall’s wife said. Randall developed more than 30 hand commands to which the palomino responded, and also trained Roy Rogers Liberty Horses, traveling the world with Rogers for more than 25 years, she said.
Randall also trained horses for other celebrities, including Gene Autry, Tex Ritter and Wayne Newton, she said.
Randall trained the 78 horses used in the 1959 Academy Award-winning film “Ben Hur,” in addition to horses in the “Black Stallion” (1979), “The Black Stallion Returns” (1983) and many other films and television shows.
In the mid-1960s, Randall set up a stable in Newhall that furnished horses, mules and horse-drawn carriages for the motion-picture industry. He later specialized in giving riding lessons.
Randall, a lifetime member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn., and his family performed in rodeos and horse shows throughout the United States for more than 25 years. He was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, and twice won the American Humane Assn.’s Patsy Award.
Randall continued to train horses until a month before his death.
In addition to his wife of 48 years, Randall is survived by his sons, Corky Randall of Newhall and Glenn Randall Jr. of Valencia; daughters Deloris Luckman of Los Angeles and Glenna Lee Dean of Muskogee, Okla.; sister Rena Gross of Minatare, Neb.; 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Eternal Valley Mortuary, 23287 N. Sierra Highway in Newhall, which is handling the arrangements. Donations can be sent in Randall’s name to the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, 101 Pro Rodeo Drive, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80919, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
