A horse checked into a Calgary hotel for Grey Cup week and was given a Guinness
Taffy walked the lobby of a downtown Calgary hotel to bagpipes, went to the check-in counter, then the bar for a bowl of Guinness, ahead of Sunday's Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium.
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Taffy the horse walked through the lobby of a downtown Calgary hotel on Thursday to the sound of bagpipes and drummers. He went to the check-in counter at the Homewood Suites, then to the hotel bar, where he was given a bowl of Guinness.
The Edmonton Elks and Montreal Alouettes play Sunday at McMahon Stadium, and the horse is part of the week's ritual. A horse has appeared in a host-city hotel ahead of the championship since 1948, when a Stampeders fan rode one into the lobby of a Toronto hotel. This year's horse, called Tuffy for the occasion, is played by Taffy, a 12-year-old brown-and-white Leopard Appaloosa who has worked in film and is used to loud noises and simulated danger.
Fans took photos with him, some in team jerseys. Calgary Stampeders fan Lisa McKay said she had been to earlier Grey Cup festivals but had never seen the horse. "Who sees a horse in a hotel, right?" she told reporters.
