It's January third, and on this day in 1967, Elvis Presley’s passion for horseback riding took center stage. What had started as a casual interest quickly turned into a full-blown obsession for the King and his inner circle.
That day marked a spree of purchases, from riding gear and equestrian apparel to horses themselves. Elvis bought his favorite palomino, originally named Midget’s Vandy, which he promptly renamed Rising Sun. He didn’t stop there—he also bought a horse for his father and added a Tennessee Walker to his growing stable, naming it after Robert E. Lee’s famous steed, Traveler.
With horses now dominating their downtime, Elvis and the Memphis Mafia visited the Memphian Theater just four times that entire month. For the rest of January, life revolved around the stables.