Taffy the horse walks through Calgary hotel in decades-old Grey Cup tradition
The 12-year-old cast horse took the role of Tuffy at the Homewood Suites in downtown Calgary ahead of Sunday's Grey Cup game.
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Taffy, a 12-year-old cast horse, walked through the lobby of the Homewood Suites in downtown Calgary this week, taking the role of Tuffy. The Grey Cup game is Sunday, with the Edmonton Elks playing the Montreal Alouettes in Calgary.
Taffy checked in at the front counter, walked to the bar and drank a bowl of Guinness, all to the sound of bagpipes. Fans took photos with the horse, some wearing football jerseys.
Lisa McKay, a Calgary Stampeders fan, said at the downtown hotel on Thursday: "Who sees a horse in a hotel, right?" She added: "I've done a couple Grey Cup festivals before, but never saw the horse, so super excited to check that one off on the bucket list."
The Calgary Grey Cup Committee says Tuffy checks into the host hotel each year and makes an appearance at the committee's VIP reception. The tradition dates to 1948, when a Stampeders fan rode a horse into the lobby of a Toronto hotel.
That year Calgary also brought pageantry with saddle horses and chuck wagons to the Grey Cup, when the Stampeders beat the Ottawa Rough Riders 12-7 at Varsity Stadium in Toronto on November 27, 1948, before 20,013 people. Calgary was the first team west of Winnipeg to win the Grey Cup.
