LEAD HORSE
The Extraordinary Lead Armored Horse
The extraordinary and rare, armored horse is one of the “lead” figures from the carousel. A “Lead” horse is often referred to as a “King” horse on the carousel based on its elaborately carved trappings and overall details.
Lead or king figures are typically located behind the chariot. Our carousel has three chariots and essentially has three “King” figures. They are the outside row standing Armored Horse, Patriotic horse with carved eagle and flag and the Palomino Horse with carved roses. All the figures are further embellished by the inclusion of mirror backed glass faceted jewels set into the carved details.
The outstanding lead, armored, outside row standing horse with plumed head and carved full body, head and neck armor has been left untouched in the last coat of paint that was applied by Domenick DeAngelis, the carousel’s original owner and as it appeared on its last day of use in 1954. The carousel was dismantled and put into storage for what was intended to be a temporary period of time but ended up lasting for more than 60 years.
The figure was stored near a furnace resulting in the beautifully aged paint patina of its multi-colored trappings. The Buffalo Heritage Carousel wanted to preserve the horse in its mellowed park paint in respect to its history of use and the legacy of the De Angelis family who had been its only owner and operator until 2016 when the carousel was purchased by the Buffalo Heritage Carousel
The lead armored horse is on permanent display and its location on the outside row has been filled by an antique Herschell- Spillman Sea Dragon. This sea dragon figure originally rode a menagerie park carousel at Algonac Island park, St. Claire, Michigan that operated until 1946. That carousel was moved to Owasco Lake Park, Auburn, New York and operated there until 1972 when it was sold to the Friend’s for Long Island’s Heritage. The carousel was sold piecemeal in1990 and the sea dragon figure was acquired by the Buffalo Heritage Carousel from a private collector. The sea dragon has become a beloved creature on the Buffalo Heritage Carousel.