WKKAHL Reopens, with a new exhibit on the history of the Los Angeles County Fair

Good news for equine history researchers: After a long remodeling project, the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library and Special Collections & Archives (SC&A) Reading Room at Cal Poly Pomona’s University Library have officially reopened. I made the drive out to the campus a few days ago; it was good to be able to see the Horse Library, reconnect with the helpful staff, and review materials in person again.

I wanted to begin to explore SC&A's Fairplex Records, 1871-2022. They provide fascinating insight into the history of the Los Angeles County Fair and the Fairgrounds in Pomona, renamed Fairplex in 1984. Since horses played such an important role in the Fairgrounds' history, I started scratching the surface of this large archive by reviewing some of the black and white photographs and horse show programs from the 1920s through 1950s. 

Carnation Farms' six-horse hitch of Percherons, at the LA County Fairgrounds. Photo by the author, of a page from an old Frashers' album. 

1926 Los Angeles County Fair horse show program, from the Fairplex Records collection. Photo by the author. 

Los Angeles County Fairgrounds horse show program from the 1950s, showing the harness ponies owned by Mrs. J.A. Smith of West Hollywood. Photo by the author. 

I reached out to Katie Richardson, Head of Special Collections and Archives, about the remodeling project.

Question: What changes were made during the remodeling? How long did it take?

Katie Richardson (KR): The updates were largely behind the scenes and focused primarily on improvements to the HVAC system and the environmental conditions in the SC&A reading room and associated spaces in the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library, which includes long-term storage for some of our collections. The work took place during the past academic year and over the summer.

Q: Will we, as researchers, notice anything different when we visit?

KR: Researchers should not notice significant visible changes to the research experience or access procedures. The space may feel somewhat cooler than it did previously, but the reading room and collections will continue to operate as before. 

(Note: Seriously. Even if it's warm outside, bring a sweater or a jacket to wear during your research visit.)

Q: How does this remodeling project advance the University's overall or longer-term strategy for Special Collections? 

KR: The improvements strengthen the environment in which the University’s archival and rare book collections are preserved and accessed. Maintaining a stable environment supports the long-term stewardship of the collections and allows SC&A to continue serving students, faculty, researchers, and the public.

Alongside the reopening of the Horse Library, Special Collections & Archives [SC&A] is presenting a newly installed exhibition highlighting the Fairplex Records. Entitled Rides, Ribbons, and Regional Roots: More Than a Century of the Los Angeles County Fair, the exhibition traces the transformation of the Los Angeles County Fair from its humble beginnings into a major entertainment destination. 

Digital Projects Coordinator Andrew Kopp gave me a tour of the exhibit, which showcases the origin and growth of the Fairgrounds property during the 20th century. I was particularly interested in the connection between artists such as Millard Sheets and Lawrence Tenny Stevens and the Fairgrounds. 

There was no County Fair during World War II. The exhibit also sheds light on the Fairgrounds' role during the war as the Pomona Assembly Center, a temporary detention center that held more than 5,000 Japanese Americans -- most of them US citizens -- in 1942, before they were transferred to relocation camps. Afterwards, the Fairgrounds became the Pomona Ordnance Depot, housing and training thousands of American military personnel and holding thousands of German and Italian prisoners of war (some of whom worked on the old Kellogg Ranch property when it was the Pomona Remount Depot during the war).

Most of the exhibit, however, focuses on the Fairgrounds' history as a venue showcasing agriculture, entertainment, and innovation. 

The LA County Fair exhibit and Fairplex Collection allow equine history researchers to gain insight into the role of the horse in agriculture and entertainment -- especially as relates to horseshows and horse racing. And they dovetail nicely with WKKAHL's other materials relating to the Arabian horse in Southern California. 

Arabian horse enthusiasts on social media have been able to identify the horse and rider in this unmarked photo in the exhibit as FIRE TU (AHR 234848, chestnut 1981, Baske-Tu x Startip Fire Mist) and Ann Clausen, a (now retired) trainer at the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center, taking part in an Arabian horse show at the Fairgrounds. 

(One glass display case also contains a great autographed picture of Johnny Cash.)

Photo by the author, who apologizes for the glare on the photo
of the Man In Black. 

The W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library & Reading Room Hours are Monday–Friday 10 AM–12 PM and 2–4 PM. Additional hours available by appointment.

The exhibit Rides, Ribbons, and Regional Roots: More Than a Century of the Los Angeles County Fair  is open to the public Monday–Friday from 8:30 AM–4:45 PM.

The link to the collections at WKKAHL is here:

https://libguides.library.cpp.edu/wkkahl

The Finding Aid for the Fairplex Records is here:  

https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c88g8tkd/

To make a research appointment, contact Special Collections & Archives:

speccollections@cpp.edu / 909-869-3775

 

 

 

"For The Horseman...The Collector...The Gift Seeker:" The Quarter Horse by Gladys Brown (Edwards)

I've written about Gladys Brown Edwards' Quarter Horse designs before. For your files, here's a copy of an advertisement for one of her "authentic bulldog type" Quarter Horse stallion, which was marketed by GBE's then-husband, Cecil Edwards. 

More on GBE's horse art and designs:

https://californiahorsehistory.blogspot.com/2026/03/familiar-fiberglass-faces-horse-designs.html

https://californiahorsehistory.blogspot.com/2023/05/gladys-brown-edwards-classic-arabian.html

https://californiahorsehistory.blogspot.com/2020/09/prewitt-fiberglass-quarter-horse.html

"A Look of Elegance": A New Look at a 1939 Photograph of the Kellogg Arabian Stallion *King John

 

*King John AHR 739 with Stella Smith. She is wearing the costume worn by Marlene Dietrich, who famously rode *King John in the 1934 film The Scarlet Empress.

Arabian horse historian Mary Jane Parkinson tells us that the 1939 Sunday Horse Shows at the W. K. Kellogg Institute of Animal Husbandry featured a refurbished arena with new bleachers, as well as performances by many of the famous Kellogg Arabians. 

Someone -- I don't know who -- took their camera to the Sunday Show on August 20, 1939, and captured this image of the desert-bred Kellogg Arabian stallion *KING JOHN in action. A friend of a colleague unearthed the photograph recently, and I was given permission to share it with you here. 

The Kellogg Arabian stallion *KING JOHN AHR 739

Seeing *King John in person would have been a treat for the photographer. He was well-known in his era, not only for his popular appearances in the Sunday Shows, but also in blockbuster Hollywood films. 

*King John starred with Marlene Dietrich in The Scarlet Empress in 1934, and with Gary Cooper in The Lives of a Bengal Lancer in 1935. In 1936 he was ridden by Basil Rathbone in The Garden of Allah, and in 1937 Walt Disney's animators used him to inspire the Prince's horse in the animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

*King John appears to be the horse ridden by Basil Rathbone (right and above) in the 1936 film  The Garden of Allah, filmed in Yuma, Arizona. 

*King John was more than just photogenic; he was also athletic, graceful, and kind.  Arabian horse authority Carol Woodbridge Mulder remembered:

During all his time at the Kellogg Ranch - even well into his old age - he exhibited a proud, stylish carriage and caught the eyes of all who saw him. He had a look of elegance. He also had a wonderful disposition... At the Kellogg Ranch he was considered one of the most easily handled and agreeable of all the stallions. 

Apparently the photograph my colleague shared with me had been sitting, forgotten, in a box in someone's Southern California house for many years.  What a privilege to be able to share it and remember *King John.

(And if you come across old photographs of horses from "back in the day," let me know. You may have found a treasure like this one!)

* * *

Thanks to Pat LoPresti and Carol Woodbridge Mulder for their assistance on this post.

Nothing I could write about *King John could match the words of Carol Woodbridge Mulder, who knew him personally. Her full article on *King John 739 and *Malouma 738 is archived on the Crabbet.com website:  

https://crabbet.com/the-w-k-kellogg-arabian-horse-ranch-part-14-1931-malouma-738-and-king-john-739-are-purchased/

That being said, several years ago I found a copy of a printed program from the premiere of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and wrote about *King John as the inspiration for art:  

https://estatesalechronicles.blogspot.com/2016/02/snow-white-and-handsome-king.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawQ7v6RleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFpS2ViUXIyVGo2QktTdVVNc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHtdoVBS39U7Iq5ObWX1Vt4jMxIkzakv47nismPS4wiUCNuRZIInmyrKe-Gl6_aem_Ud52D38Ho_z1ba2m-bDYoQ

Wearing his signature white bridle, *King John is the second horse seen in this old film from Huntley Archives on YouTube: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5OLUAm-vJw

We can see *King John in action in this longer Huntley film, starting at about 5:05 into the video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7zYHLpRces&t=268s

The Versatile Arabian Horse On Film: All-Arabian Horse Show, October 1955, Pomona, California

Certain images in this post are provided under the Fair Use provision in Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act. "Fair Use" specifically allows for the use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes only.

Much of what I share about Arabian horses from the 20th century comes from articles and photographs in books and  magazines. If I'm truly blessed, I can talk to someone who knew the horses and their humans and learn more of the details. 

Seeing famous horses in old "home movies," probably shot by amateurs, help me imagine what it would have been like to have been in the horse show ring "where it happened" (to borrow a phrase from Hamilton). This enhances my understanding of equine history in a unique way.

A good example of this is the legendary Arabian stallion *Serafix (1949-1973). Bred by the Crabbet Stud in England, *Serafix was imported to the United States in 1954 by horseman John Rogers of Walnut Creek, California. He went on to have a stellar career as a show horse and sire. His owners promoted him as "*Serafix the Beautiful." 

The photograph of him below was taken by another legend in the Arabian horse community, Johnny Johnston. Before he passed away in 2019, Johnston commented in a Facebook group that *Serafix was "truly magnificent."   

Source: Wikipedia

Author Jim Panek remembered first seeing *Serafix in his article that appeared in the March/April 1986 issue of The Crabbet Influence magazine (link below).

"*Serafix was truly a magnificent specimen. At that time I didn't know or care how good an Arabian he was; it was his magic, his charisma, his bloom, his attitude, his indescribable 'noblesse oblige' that, in my eyes, has yet to be duplicated."

Panek remembered the stallion's fire, poise, and balance, with skin "like tissue paper."

I'd heard of *Serafix all my life, but never saw him in person. You can imagine my excitement when I spotted *Serafix in this old film that was donated to the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library at Cal Poly Pomona by the Arabian Horse Association of Southern California. It has been digitized and made available online, for free (and ad-free) viewing on the California Revealed website.

https://californiarevealed.org/do/8cba4b2f-0deb-4942-b864-5915d2305b9c

(I'll share the link again at the end of this post, in case you want to read through first.) 

The online description reads:

"This silent, color film contains footage of the Arabian Horse Association of Southern California’s 11th Annual All-Arabian Horse Show in Pomona, California. The film contains footage of several men and women leading horses into an riding arena, and showing them off to the crowd and judges. The names of the horses are shown in the film, as well as the prizes that some of the horses received. Later on in the film, there [are] views of men and women riding the horses in the arena. 

"The Arabian Horse Association of Southern California was founded in 1944 to promote the Arabian horse breed, educate owners on proper care, and to study the history and characteristics of Arabian horses."

This old film is interesting and useful for many reasons -- not the least of which is the color footage of *Serafix himself. Here, he and his handler accept the trophy for Grand Champion of the Show. 

In looking at the film footage, we see the sparkle in his eyes, his commanding attitude, his silky coat as he shimmers across the screen. We feel his strength and grace.

A short article in the Los Angeles Times tells us that the Arabian horse show dates were Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16, 1955.

Los Angeles Times, Friday, October 14, 1955.

The film begins with a graphic telling us that this footage covers Sunday Morning.

Fortunately, someone took the time to edit the movie, inserting cards showing the names of the horses that won prizes for each class. As we watch the film, we see many other familiar mid-century Arabian horse names. Some of the contestants had traveled from other parts of California and other states.

FERNEYN 2865 (gray 1944, Ferseyn x Moneyna)
picks up his third place ribbon in the Stallions - 4 Years & Over class.

HY-GAYR 6302 (chestnut 1950, Gayr x Hyka) won the Geldings - 2 & Over Class. He also won the Combination and Park classes at the show.

The two-year-old gray NUSEYN 8883 (Nusik x Hallaseyna) was Reserve Champion Stallion of the show.

The gray 1952 mare ROSE RAHNAFIN 7588 (El Rahna x Fin) won the Champion Mare award. 

Over the course of a few years after World War II, Arabian horse shows had become larger, with more diverse classes than before. (At the end of this post I'll put a link to another story I wrote about a 1946 Arabian horse show staged by the same organization, so you can compare.)

Note: some of the performance classes shown in this film display activities that have since come under increased scrutiny because of concerns for the safety of horses and riders. (We even see one cutting horse fall, in the film.) Arabian costume classes are also the subject of much debate, over whether they are a tribute to the Arabian's heritage, or cultural appropriation.

Cutting, Pole Bending, Stock Horse, Parade, English Pleasure, Park, and Western Pleasure classes appear in the film. Owners and breeders were demonstrating the versatility of the Arabian horse during this post-war era, when it was not uncommon for American adults and children to ride horseback. (As well, they were competing for the public's attention with other versatile breeds, including Morgans and Quarter Horses.) 

A class for horses and riders in ornate costumes with sparkling tassels and pompoms demonstrates that the mid-1950s Arabian horse community in Southern California was leaning in to the romantic tales told of the breed's origins in the deserts of West Asia and North Africa. 

The 1945 gray stallion BALEYN 3272 (Alla Amarward x Babeyn) won the Arabian Costume -- Stallions class. In 1959, Baleyn would support Howard Keel, Susan Kohner, and Herbert Lom in the Hollywood blockbuster "The Big Fisherman," wearing a different costume.

The gray 1947 stallion FARNUR 4128 (Nur-Ed-Dam x Farhan) was awarded the title High Point Working Horse.

The film is more than a snapshot in time of a horse show. It reflects Southern California demographics and cultural norms in the post-war era. It illustrates the dress and hair styles of participants, and adds to our knowledge of recreation and entertainment back then. 

We see the way the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona looked, decades before they were first rebranded as Fairplex in 1984. 

Equine historians and other horse experts can observe and discuss the various riding styles, and the nature of the classes. They will also note the changes in the physical appearance of an Arabian show horse over the decades.

And for the average horse lover? The film gives us a chance to "think like a historian" about how we take part in equestrian activities, while still appreciating the beauty of the horse and magic of the horse-human relationship. These are captured in time and preserved for us all -- through digitization.

* * *

This is the second in a series of posts that underscore the importance of preserving and digitizing equine history material. Part One is here:

https://californiahorsehistory.blogspot.com/2026/03/post-war-treasure-found-arabian-horse.html

* * *

Here's the California Revealed link again:

https://californiarevealed.org/do/8cba4b2f-0deb-4942-b864-5915d2305b9c

This film is also available if you're perusing the Internet Archive website: https://archive.org/details/cpomcp_000107

Here is *Serafix's Wikipedia entry, a short summary of his life and career. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serafix

Jim Panek's tribute to *Serafix is available here: 

https://crabbet.com/serafix-remembered/

The W. K .Kellogg Arabian Horse Library is an indispensable part of  Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Cal Poly Pomona. 

https://libguides.library.cpp.edu/wkkahl

You can search the Arabian Horse Association of Southern California records here:

https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8kk9j5x/

Post-War Treasure, Digitized: Arabian Horse Show, Flintridge, California, October 1946

These days, most of us rely on cell phones to capture images, edit them, and share them on social media. But it really wasn't all that long ago that we used movie cameras with film to record horses in action.  Viewing this quintessential analog medium with others was an event.

The Arabian gelding GAWALAD and his rider collect their prize.
Keep reading to learn more about this historic horse show!

In retrospect, making a "home movie" seems time-consuming. You loaded the film into the camera, pointed it at something interesting (in our  case, a horse), and turned the camera on. Then when the interesting thing had passed by, you turned the camera off. On again, off again, as you recorded the various scenes with horses in them that you wanted to save. If you pointed the camera at the ground or jumped out of the way of a passing horse, that was recorded too. Unless you were a serious amateur cinematographer in the mid-1940s, your camera only recorded images, not sounds. 

When you ran out of film, unless you had your own developing equipment and a darkroom, you took it to be developed, and a few days later it was returned to you. 

Even though the process took days or even weeks, there was a beauty in the anticipation of the finished product. You threaded the film through a movie projector in your home or office, darkened the room, and showed the film to your friends while you described what they were seeing.  If your friends had been at the same horse show, they chimed in excitedly as they recalled the day's events.

General Camera Company advertisement in Popular Photography
magazine, March 1946. Source: Internet Archive

In October 1946, someone -- probably Calabasas Arabian owner/breeder Earle E. Hurlbutt! -- used a 16mm film camera to make a home movie of an Arabian horse show. The Special Collections and Archives unit (home of the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library) in the Cal Poly Pomona University Library digitized this silent film through the California Revealed project. 

Here's a link to the film, which you can watch online for free (also ad-free). I'll also place the link at the end of this post, in case you want to read through first.

https://californiarevealed.org/do/17664f54-ac14-445d-a57a-6aba275eaa2c

"This film features footage of an Arabian Horse Show held on Sunday, October 13, 1946 at the Flintridge Hunter Trials Course in Flintridge, California. The event was sponsored by the Arabian Horse Breeders Society of Southern California and showcased Arabian horses from both breeding and working classes. 

"The footage was likely captured by Earle Hurlbutt, who owned Calarabia Ranch in the Calabasas area of Southern California and served as the first president of the [modern-day] Arabian Horse Association...."

[Hurlbutt indeed had a good eye for an Arabian horse. About three years after this show, he traveled to the US Army's Fort Reno, Oklahoma Remount Depot's dispersal sale and ($8,100 later) returned to California with the celebrated Arabian stallion *Witez II. But that's another story for another time.] 

We don't have E. E. Hurlbutt to talk us through the silent film footage he shot that day.  There was no Arabian horse magazine yet, to cover the event. 

Local newspapers didn't report the full results, although the Pomona Progress-Bulletin (which did a very good job reporting on horse community activities back in that day) carried a story about the US Army Remount-owned Arabians at the show.  The article noted that 157 horses were shown, 2500 people attended the show, Prof. C. E. Howell of UC Davis judged halter classes and George Stokes judged the working (performance) classes. 

Pomona Progress-Bulletin, October 14, 1946

Fortunately, more results were reported in the 1946 annual hardback book Here's Who in Horses of the Pacific Coast, edited by Joe Droeger. 

Droeger and his staff tell us that the humans involved included many other well-known names in the post-War Arabian horse community. 

(As well, we see a common error in reporting Arabian horse names, even for a horse publication: the winner of the English Pleasure class, GAWALAD AHR #1956, was misspelled. His owners, the Phillipses, were among the founders of the Arabian Horse Breeders Society of Southern California.)

The order in which Here's Who printed the results, differs from the order of Hurlbutt's film footage. We'd have to look at the film itself to see if someone edited it. There may or may not have been other classes with results not reported; I'll look into this and report back if I find more information. Meanwhile, let's enjoy the show!  

One mare in the Hurlbutt film is recognizable even without the show results, because her person, Harvey Ellis, famously rode her in shows, trail rides, and even parades with a Western saddle but no bridle. She is MONEYNA 1352 (*Raseyn x Monica), foaled at the Kellogg Institute in 1937.

Moneyna and Harvey Ellis give a special performance
starting at about 14:37 in the film.

(The highly intelligent Moneyna deserves her own blog post, not only for her performance but also because of her two talented sons, Ferneyn and Neyseyn, both by Ferseyn, who like Moneyna was also by *Raseyn.)

Alyf and Charles Smith take part in the Harness Horses class.

Moving on, we see the results of the Harness Horses class, with other well-known Arabian names. We mentally chide Hurlbutt for not filming the gray ALYF 1465 ( foaled 1938, Ronek x Fath) receiving his first-place award, although he does appear in the footage.

 

When we look at the results for Class 5 -- Mares, 4 Years or Over, we catch our breath and start searching the film footage, because the winner, BINT SAHARA 2394 (gray 1942, Farawi x Bint Sedjur) is considered by many to be one of the greatest Arabian mares of this era. She went on to become the foundation of a dynasty of Arabians for her person, Frank McCoy. Her 18 purebred offspring included Fadjur, Fersara, McCoy's Count, and other champions.  

I checked with members of the Arabian Horse History group on Facebook, and we believe that Frank McCoy himself was her handler at the show. They come to life on our computer screens, legends in the making. 

As we continue to review Hurlbutt's home movie, we see that he took a shot of some of the trophies the winners took home. The majority of them were designed by Gladys Brown Edwards, whose career as an artist and Arabian horse authority has been covered here extensively. 

And at the end of the film -- a surprise! We see the artist herself, recently married to Cecil Edwards, handing out awards to Arabians and riders in Western performance. 

Equine historians (amateur and professional) may note the Arabian horses' conformation, compared to Arabians today. You can compare their tack, the nature of the performance and halter classes, the rustic obstacles in the Western trail class, the laid-back nature of the venue, to the slick spectacle that a modern all-Arabian horse show can be. 

History lovers in general can watch the film and think about how it reflects income and demographics in the post-World War II Western United States (hint: you didn't have to be particularly wealthy to compete back then); clothing styles; and the fact that women, men, and teenagers competed against each other.  Looking at the "working" classes, Western tack seems to have been more popular than English at this show; but after all, this was on the West Coast. 

Here's the link to the film again:

https://californiarevealed.org/do/17664f54-ac14-445d-a57a-6aba275eaa2c

Note: you can speed up the film by clicking on the rabbit icon on the lower left side of the screen. To slow it down, click on the turtle icon.

* * *

The Internet Archive holds a digitized copy of the 1946 edition of Here's Who in Horses of the Pacific Coast.  You can do a keyword search, or just scroll through the pages. 

https://archive.org/details/hereswhoinhorses0000unse

If you're interested in comparing the 1946 Arabian Horse Show with one from just a couple of years later, here's a good resource. The Hathi Trust has digitized the 1948 edition of Here's Who in Horses of the Pacific Coast. The much longer results of the 1948 All Arabian Show, held in Pomona, demonstrate just how quickly the popularity of the Arabian horse was growing in Southern California.  

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89052499613&seq=7

(Our old friend Moneyna was Grand Champion in 1948.)

Facebook groups of interest (be SURE to answer the easy questions to join, if you haven't already):

Arabian Horse History  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/848043201925430

The Kellogg Arabians

https://www.facebook.com/groups/208971406622353

* * *

Many thanks to Katie Richardson and the staff at the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library, Special Collections and Archives, at the University Library at Cal Poly Pomona. 

https://libguides.library.cpp.edu/wkkahl

Their ever-growing collection of digitized films, sound recordings, and still images is a real treasure. You can find the entire collection here, or just do a keyword search for "Arabian horse" to narrow down the results. 

https://californiarevealed.org/partner/california-state-polytechnic-university-pomona-special-collections-and-archives

I'm going to explore one of their Arabian horse show films from 1955 in an upcoming post. Stay tuned for another real superstar from 20th century equine history!

Familiar Fiberglass Faces: Horse Designs by Gladys Brown Edwards

Certain images in this post are provided under the Fair Use provision in Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act. "Fair Use" specifically allows for the use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes only.

A life-size fiberglass Arabian designed by Gladys Brown Edwards, in the window of the Old Territorial Shop in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona, probably mid- to late 1970s. Photo by the author, who still stops to take a picture of every horse-shaped object she sees.

If you lived near a horse community in the United States during the 1960s and '70s, it's likely you saw at least one life-size fiberglass horse statue in front of a feed and grain or tack store, or the local riding academy. They were made by a Lawndale, California company called Prewitt's, starting in about 1961. 

Prewitt fiberglass Quarter Horse, atop Porter's Western Wear, Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona. Photo by the author, probably 1980s-1990s.

Equine artists and designers had worked in fiberglass before, of course.

Newspaper reports tell of a larger-than-life-size articulated fiberglass equid by Robert Howard at the San Francisco Museum of Art in 1955. 

A miniature fiberglass spring-mounted "bouncy horse" was ridden by the chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs on Dave Garroway's NBC "Today" program on television in 1956. (The chimp had been added to the show's lineup to bolster its sagging ratings.)

Smaller-than-life fiberglass horses for children to ride in playgrounds and on carousels appeared in the mid-20th century.

But it wasn't until Lawndale businessman Bob Prewitt hired Gladys Brown Edwards to design "the perfect Quarter Horse" to accompany the fiberglass horse trailers he sold, that a life-size horse statue sturdy enough to hold a saddle, bridle, and adult rider, came on the American scene. 

Catalog for Prewitt fiberglass horse trailers and life-size fiberglass Quarter Horses. From The Cecil and Gladys Brown Edwards Papers, W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Cal Poly Pomona (author's photo).  

From the Prewitt's catalog, above.

Gladys Brown Edwards next to the fiberglass Arabian she designed for Prewitt's. Photo taken by the author at the exhibit "Becoming Gladys Brown Edwards" at the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library in 2016-2017.

Fiberglass Arabian foal and mare, on display during BreyerFest, at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Kentucky

We sometimes see the original Prewitt fiberglass horse designs at horsey venues today. More often than not, these days, the designs seem to have been slightly adapted from the originals. Bob Prewitt said that several firms had pirated his designs over the years without his permission; others had given him a small commission and changed his original molds somewhat.

Fiberglass Quarter Horse at The Autry Museum, Los Angeles. 

"Lackomotion," the fiberglass Quarter Horse at Calabasas Saddlery, Calabasas, California. 

Fiberglass Thoroughbred at the Leonis Adobe Museum, Calabasas, California

In a 1991 newspaper interview, Prewitt disclosed that Gladys Brown Edwards had made "most" of the 50 different fiberglass animals his company produced, including:

Horses of several breeds

Cow

Calf

Longhorn Steer

Buffalo

Elephant

Zebra

An 8-foot tall rooster (!)

Excerpt from a January 18, 1991 interview with Bob Prewitt in the Victorville, California Daily Press.

And now on social media I see the descendants of two of GBE's fiberglass horse designs -- the Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred -- in the Spring 2026 exhibit “Adorning the Horse: Equestrian Textiles for Power and Prestige” at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum in Washington, DC.

Their social media sums up the exhibit:

"Visitors encounter 1,300 years of history in the galleries — a magnificent selection of saddle blankets, covers and other equestrian textiles that communicate the significance of horses and riders across cultures."

If you look closely you can see a descendant of the GBE fiberglass Quarter Horse in the middle of the right side of this image from the website GW Today:

https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/adorning-horse-honors-species-interwoven-our-own

If you're in the DC area and you like horses, and/or textiles, and/or history, it looks like it would be well worth a visit! I'll put some more links at the bottom of the page, where you can find more information.

______________________________________

The W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library (WKKAHL) holds the Cecil and Gladys Brown Edwards Papers, which include the original Prewitt's flyer and the photograph of Gladys next to the fiberglass Arabian mare.

https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8vd745z/

WKKAHL is part of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Special Collections and Archives. They collect, organize, preserve, and make available Cal Poly Pomona's rare books and archival collections. The collections center around themes relevant to the mission of the university and are available for use by all interested users including students, faculty, staff, and the general research community.

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The Textile Museum is located at 701 21st St. NW, Washington, DC. Click on the link below for more information and their operating hours.

Here's a link to the exhibition: https://museum.gwu.edu/adorning-horse-equestrian-textiles-power-and-prestige

Here's the free downloadable Gallery Guide:

https://museum.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs6286/files/2026-02/Adorning%20the%20Horse_Gallery%20Guide.pdf

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Here's the whole interview with Bob Prewitt. 

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Here are some of my previous blog posts that mention Gladys Brown Edwards' equine art.

Fiberglass Quarter Horse:

https://californiahorsehistory.blogspot.com/2020/09/prewitt-fiberglass-quarter-horse.html

https://californiahorsehistory.blogspot.com/2021/09/following-sparkle-arabian-horse-costume.html

US National Arabian Horse Trophy:

https://californiahorsehistory.blogspot.com/2023/04/us-arabian-nationals-trophy-by-gladys.html

"Classic Arabian" Trophy:

https://californiahorsehistory.blogspot.com/2023/05/gladys-brown-edwards-classic-arabian.html