In July 1956, Arnold Brothers Motor Company invited “dare-deviling” Dick Griffith and his horse, Noel, to Boulder. Part of the visit was to promote the annual Boulder Pow Wow rodeo, but the latest model Ford (priced at approximately $2,000) was front and center in the rodeo’s publicity.

That included the newspaper photo (that accompanies this column) of Noel looking under the hood of a new car. The photo’s caption read, “Aw cut it out, boss…. there aren’t 225 horses under here!”

To Boulder’s children, though, the amount of horsepower under the hood wasn’t nearly as exciting as having the famous horse and the world champion “trick,” or stunt, rider visit their hometown.

The Camera played up the duo’s Boulder visit. An Arnold Brothers’ ad stated, “Hey kids, get your picture taken with Dick and Noel free!” To bring in business, the company announced, “An adult must accompany [the] child.” Prominent Boulder businessman William G. “Bill” Arnold had founded the Arnold Ford Company decades earlier, in 1926.

That same year, Dick Griffith’s father “Curley,” a rodeo rider, died of a neurological disorder that resulted in paralysis.

Dick was only 13 years old at the time, but he already had performed with his father at various shows including Cheyenne Frontier Days, in Wyoming.

Dick continued in his father’s footsteps. Nationally acclaimed, Dick’s rodeo performances were known for their “style and flashing precision” that quickly evolved into trick riding that resembled gymnastics on horseback.

Meanwhile, in Boulder, the Arnold family had become synonymous with Fords. In 1953, William, Sr. sold the Arnold Ford Company to William, Jr. and siblings who renamed it the Arnold Brothers Motor Company.

When Griffith and his horse Noel came to Boulder in 1956, the Arnold Brothers’ main dealership was located 1027 Walnut St. The announced place to meet Dick and his horse, however, was at an Arnold Brothers’ used car lot at 1814 Broadway (northeast of Broadway and Canyon Boulevard and now occupied by One Boulder Plaza).

Longtime Boulder residents remember when the Ford dealership moved, in 1960, northwest of the intersection of Ninth and Water streets. (Water Street, now one lane of Canyon Boulevard, was a frontage road to the railroad tracks that were removed that same year.) In 1974, Arnold Brothers Ford moved out of downtown to 38th Street and Arapahoe Avenue and remained in business until 1978.

The Arnold Brothers ad that included Griffith and Noel stated that buying a new car was “horse sense” and would help with keeping up with the “neigh”-bors. What, though, was the connection between horses and cars, other than the corny jokes?

In the Camera’s advance Pow Wow rodeo publicity, the “added attraction” to an already packed program would be Griffith, riding Noel. No doubt the children who had their photos taken with the rodeo star were on the edge of their seats in the bleachers.

Living up to Griffith’s description as a “daredevil,” the Camera drew in crowds by announcing that the horse and rider would “jump over a new car with the daring Griffith doing a shoulder stand.” The stunt was performed flawlessly, but the newspaper’s writer neglected to mention the make of the car.

It was, though, provided by Arnold Brothers, so it likely was a Ford.

Silvia Pettem’s In Retrospect column appears once a month. She can be reached at silviapettem@gmail.com.