Ceremonial Pony

Cathy Smith is a historian of the American West. She is also an authentic costumer who has worked on such films as Dancing with Wolves and All the Pretty Horses. Her original Pony was adorned with a Crow woman's Horse Trappings Outfit, circa 1870's. The keyhole-shaped ornament on the forehead was a classic Crow design, the beaded rosette surrounded with horsehair tassels and wrapped in dyed cotton string. Made to carry a short buffalo lance or captured cavalry sword, the case was fashioned out of buffalo rawhide painted with natural earth pigments. Outfits similar to this are still paraded today at the Crow Fair in Crow Agency.