Blackie the Horse
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Blackie was a swaybacked horse who, for 28 years, was a well known fixture in Tiburon, CA. He not only stood in the same spot in a pasture at the corner of Tiburon Boulevard and Trestle Glen Road, rarely moving, day after day, but he faced in the same direction, becoming the local mascot of several generations. Born in Kansas, Blackie was brought to California to become a cutting horse at rodeos. After his rodeo career he was sold to the Army and became a cavalry horse, accompanying the Army horses stabled at the Presidio of San Francisco as they rode to Yosemite National Park each spring to patrol the park. He was retired when he was 12 years old. Anthony Connell, his new owner, put him in the Tiburon pasture where he found his spot and stood, stock still, for 28 years. When Blackie collapsed and died while standing in “his” spot on February 27, 1966, the Marin County Health Department approved his burial in the pasture. His grave is marked by a simple cross and a memorial plaque made possible by contributions from citizens of the peninsula. In June of 1995, thanks to a gift by the family of Gordon Strawbridge, Tiburon's first mayor, the Tiburon Peninsula Foundation erected a life-sized sculpture of Blackie created by the noted Bay Area artist, Albert Guibara, in what is now known as Blackie’s Pasture.
