Taffy the leopard Appaloosa to trot into Calgary’s Homewood Suites for Grey Cup hotel tradition

The Story

Taffy, a 12-year-old leopard Appaloosa, is scheduled to trot into Calgary’s Homewood Suites on Thursday as the latest horse to play the role of “Tuffy” in the Grey Cup hotel tradition.

For nearly 80 years, some version of Tuffy has recreated the moment when a Stampeders fan rode a horse into the lobby of the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto in 1948, turning the “horsin’ around” spectacle into a recurring fixture in the host city.

This year’s Grey Cup Festival is set to kick off on Tuesday and culminate on Sunday with the championship game between the Edmonton Elks and the Montreal Alouettes.

Ahead of the Thursday visit, John Scott said the horse has been chosen for his temperament around people, music and noise, noting that Scott “just got the right disposition, the right mind to be around people, music, noise.”

Scott, who saddled the horse at his ranch near Longview, Alta., said his team exposes the horse to loud sounds and music ahead of time, and that the animal will wear something designed to help it walk across slippery hotel floors, “like rubber shoes.”

The Calgary Grey Cup Committee chair Steve Sommerfeld is to be in the saddle for the hotel arrival, where the horse is expected to “check in with the receptionist.”

Sommerfeld is also expected to oversee the horse’s next steps, including a complimentary basket of food, followed by an appearance at the hotel bar with a simple request for water while Sommerfeld and the horse are “on the clock.”

Sommerfeld said Tuffy, “or Tuffy Nuff as he’s officially known to the Calgary Grey Cup Committee,” will be a spectacle for hotel guests who do not understand what is happening and a scheduled smile for children who have come to see him.

Scott described Taffy as a cast horse for actors and said the film work has included staying calm through simulated danger. He said his company, John Scott Productions, has more than 100 horses with different talents, and that Scott’s role is ensuring animals can work in front of the camera.

Because unexpected moments can happen, Scott said insurance has been put in place for the horse’s hotel promenade.

Scott added that he is not worried about the transition from the open ranch setting to tighter hotel hallways, saying he thinks the horse will “enjoy it as much as we do.”