“Ride the Champion” — Kiddie Horse Ride
Children’s coin-operated rides first appeared on the scene in the late 1940’s. At that time, cowboys were all the rage, and the most famous of all was Gene Autry. For every child aspiring to be a cowboy, there was the coin-operated ride named after Autry’s horse, “Champion”. We restored this 1950’s “Ride the Champion” Kiddie Ride here at Vintage Vending. It was working when we got it. It was stripped and repainted. The base was powder-coated and the horse was airbrushed and then clear-coated. The sign was fabricated metal that was meticulously hand painted. We no longer own this whimsical piece, but we’re sure kids still get a great deal of enjoyment from it.
These very popular rides for kids are still being manufactured and used today.
This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby. To view more pictures of the completed restoration visit the RetroPlanet.com Museum.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Rapid T. Rabbit // Feb 13, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Wow, I love Bally Champion horses…they give such a realistic ride when they’re cranked up that way, and I used to practice for riding real horses on one that used to be near Times Square in NYC. Today I own one that is stabled in Wild West City NJ.
2 TOM FULLER // Mar 10, 2009 at 1:49 am
WELL I HAVE ONE OF THESE HORSES IN MY FOYER. I’VE HAD HIM FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS AND HE IS METICULOUS. HE IS PAINTED THE SAME COLOR AND MARKINGS AS THE REAL “CHAMPION”. I WAS A BIG GENE AUTRY FAN AS A KID, AND WHEN I SEEN THIS HORSE I KNEW I’D BUY IT. BUT IT’S TIME FOR HIM TO GO, AND I’M OFFERING “CHAMPION” FOR SALE. I ADMIT HE WON’T BE CHEAP. IT HAS THE ORIGINAL 1957 ELECTRIC MOTOR, TWO SPEEDS. LARIET, PLAYS THE LONE RANGER THEME SONG WITH SHOOTING GUNS……WHY THE LONE RANGER? I HAVE NO IDEA….LOL! AND THE MUSIC CAN BE TURNED OFF IF DESIRED. HAS ORIGINAL COIN BOX, THE ORIGINAL HAS A ROUND PIPE, WITH THE BOX FACING THE RIDER. SOME OF THE BOXES WERE CUT OFF AND REPLACE WITH A SQUARE STOCK PIECE OF STEEL, BECAUSE IT WAS EASY TO STEAL THE COINS WITH THE ROUND PIPE TYPE BOX MOUNT…..PIPE CUTTERS, YA KNOW. YOU CAN’T GO WRONG WITH THIS GREAT HORSIE, HE’S A GREAT LITTLE PONY, AND DOES’NT LEAVE A MESS ON THE FLOOR! IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, YOU’LL OFFER A GOOD PRICE……IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! TOM FULLER (nascar@pacifier.com)
3 W. Gillmore // Jul 29, 2010 at 3:05 pm
This is a very cool looking ride. Much more modern looking than the original. I saw some originals at one of the shows down in IL. The guy was from WI I believe. Coin Op Rides i think it was called.
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