The real Cricket was a gentle and patient horse owned and loved by Frances Sweet. Her dad had bought the 28-year-old horse for her brother- but her brother wasn’t particularly interested so she traded him a movie camera for the horse and took possession. She was not yet a teenager at the time and her father wasn’t thrilled with the transaction, but eventually, he came around when he recognized how much Cricket meant to Frances.
This handsome fellow is a red sorrel with white markings on all four of his legs and his face. Watching the carving of Cricket take shape was like seeing him come back to life! Daisies and buttercups are braided into Cricket’s brown mane and tail, and little hearts are included on the saddle blanket and bridle. Frances remembers picking wildflowers and braiding them into Cricket’s mane and tail as he grazed under an apple tree. It was a favorite tree for Frances to climb. Cricket, of course, preferred eating the apples.
Frances went on to own many other horses but Cricket was always the most special. As an inside row jumper, Cricket will give riders a realistic experience prancing around the carousel.
