Goldie The Wonder Horse

 

Bognor Regis, 1978

Manufactured by Mills Novelty Co. of Mossley, Goldie The Wonder Horse was released in 1964.  A chunky glossy brown animal with white mane and tail, the horse was also sometimes sold under the names of Blaze and Texan.  Like Mills' other rides, she had a distinctive "up and down" rocking motion and a coin slot in within easy reach of her young rider, in this case set into her neck beneath her right handlebar.

Sadly, Goldie doesn't seem to have been quite as popular as Mills Novelty Co.'s first two rides, Jumbo and Piggy Bak, and I never saw one in real life.  However, my BRH Fibreglass "Tich" from Bognor Regis Pier was named Goldie by the signwriter who refurbished her and painted that name on her base.  The name was written in the style used by Mills Novelty Co. on this horse, and I believe that the name was probably taken from the horse shown in the film above!  So although I never got to see one in the flesh, I like to think of my "Goldie" Tich as a small link back to the Mills Novelty Co. horses of the past.