Behind the Scenes: Headless Horseman Disneyland Park

By  |  0 Comments

Go Behind the Scenes as Disneyland Horses Train for a Ride with the Headless Horseman

There were a lot of additions to Mickey’s Halloween Party this year including the ride of the Headless Horseman. You may remember the Horseman from his terrifying appearance in the Disney film “The Legend of Sleepy Hallow.”

This year, guests of Mickey’s Halloween Party are treated to a haunting appearance by the Headless Horseman as he comes to life for a ride down Mainstreet U.S.A. Guests can see the Horseman up close before the Frightfully Fun Parade.

Training the Horses

What guests won’t see is all the work that went behind bringing the Horseman to the parks, including training the horses. In the video below you’ll learn about the horses used in the parade, and how Disney trainers prepared them for their appearance at Disneyland Park in Anaheim.

 

Here are 4 facts we learned about the Ride of the Headless Horseman from the video.

  1. Disney used draft horses for the parade, even though this type of horse is typically bread to draw or haul for plowing and other farm labor.
  2. The horses used in the parade are named Dallas and Gabe.
  3. Trainers had to teach the horses to be neck reined because the Horseman must be able to ride with one hand, since his pumpkin head is held in the other.
  4. The horses had to learn to stop off of the rider’s seat. The rider sits deeply back on the saddle to signal the horse to stop.

Learn more about how the horses were trained in the video above, or discover more about Mickey’s Halloween Party here.

Michelle McKinley is a journalist and digital marketer from Los Angeles, CA. She earned her Journalism degree from Pepperdine University, and has been writing for the web since 2003. She’s a life-long Disney fan who travels and writes about her experiences for fun.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply