Say ‘hay’ to Jay, a Tri-Circle-D Ranch Animal Operations Specialist at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
Most Disney fans are accustomed to the phrase, “It was all started by a mouse.” But was it all really started by a horse?
The first piece of art Walt Disney ever sold was, not of a mouse or even a lucky rabbit, but a sketch he drew as a child of a horse named Rupert in Marceline, Mo. Walt sold that sketch – for a nickel – to the horse’s owner, “Doc” Sherwood, and as Walt pursued more lucrative artistic endeavors in the decades that followed, he did so with an enduring love of horses. He’d go on to make movie deals while playing polo on horseback in Hollywood. He’d place horses in cartoons like Goofy’s “How to Ride a Horse” (1950). And, in 1951, as he began dreaming up his original magic kingdom, Walt hired married couple Owen and Dolly Pope to advise on the use – and eventually tend to the needs – of horses at Disneyland Park. (As the Popes famously lived in a house backstage at Disneyland Park while caring for the park’s horses and its Circle D Corral, you could say they predated Disney Vacation Club Members in calling a Disney destination “home.”)
Years later, Walt’s earliest designs for his expansive “Florida Project” included plans for a campground, which would house horses at its Tri-Circle-D Ranch even before the opening day of Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
Equally enamored with horses and, like Walt, raised on a family farm (though in Western New York, not Missouri), is Tri-Circle-D Ranch Animal Operations Manager Jay Sanderson. As a child tasked with helping to care for the farm’s cattle, goats and horses, Jay learned at an early age how the quality of care given to those animals impacted the quality of life of, not just those animals, but his family.
It’s an understanding that has fueled Jay’s career at the Tri-Circle-D Ranch – a career he initially didn’t intend to seek out.
“To pursue farming as a career was never really in my line of vision,” Jay told Disney Files Magazine. “Mostly because I wasn’t aware of all the opportunities, so I took a conventionally safer route – business – and later applied to the Disney College Program.”
But that all changed with what was supposed to be a 6-month assignment working at the Tri-Circle-D Ranch. Now nearly 20 years later, Jay’s still at that ranch, caring for “The Happiest Horses on Earth” and helping them thrive both on stage and off.
“It’s important that we set our horses up for success,” Jay said of his role. “Just like cast members, some horses may be better candidates for certain roles than others. For example, only a handful of horses may be best suited as the Headless Horseman’s iconic steed during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom Park. The same can be said for Cinderella’s Royal Coach. The entourage pulling her carriage must be uniform in height and appearance to provide a show element that’s authentic and true to the story of Cinderella.”
Jay shared that, even the much-photographed white Shetland pony Lilly (named after Lillian Disney and owner of the distinction of being the first of Cinderella’s ponies to be born at the ranch) underwent four years of training from the moment she was born before her first time pulling Cinderella’s carriage.
Today, Lilly “leads the hitch,” pulling the picturesque pumpkin coach during Disney’s Fairytale Weddings.
“Just like the horses of my childhood, the horses here at Tri-Circle-D Ranch feel like family, not only to me, but to everyone on our team,” Jay continued. “Being able to give our guests an up-close look at how we care for our horses has always been such a rewarding part of our job. And now that Disney Vacation Club Members are visiting us more regularly, we’re excited for them to fall just as much in love with these amazing animals as we have.”
The next time you return “home” to The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, be sure to mosey on over to the Tri-Circle-D Ranch for an up-close look at some of the more than 90 happy horses who, like Disney Vacation Club Members, call this place home. And if you see Jay, tell him we said “Hey.” Or “Hay.” (Okay, no more horse puns.)
