Warpaint is a

pinto horse A pinto horse has a coat color that consists of large patches of white and any other color. The distinction between "pinto" and "solid" can be tenuous, as so-called "solid" horses frequently have areas of white hair. Various cultures through ...

that was a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) team. Three individual horses have been used for Warpaint. The horse is associated with the Chiefs' glory days at Municipal Stadium when the team won two

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) championships, and the horse led the team's victory parade after its win in

Super Bowl IV Super Bowl IV was an American football game played on January 11, 1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the fourth and final AFL–NFL World Championship Game in professional football prior to the AFL–NFL merger taking eff ...

. After the original Warpaint's retirement in 1989, the team used

K. C. Wolf K. C. Wolf is the official mascot of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. He was first introduced in 1989 as a successor to Warpaint, a horse ridden by a man wearing a full Indian chief headdress, from the mid-1980s. K. C. Wolf was ...

as their lone mascot from 1989 to 2009. In keeping with the celebration of the AFL's 50th anniversary, the Chiefs decided to bring back the tradition of Warpaint for the 2009 season, introducing the new horse at the team's home-opener against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

, before being retired once again in 2021.

History

Originally, the horse was ridden bareback by Bob Johnson, who wore a

headdress Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, de ...

in the style of ceremonial American Indian regalia.Chiefs cheerleaders and mascots
Accessed 15 March 2008, archived 10 Feb 2012. Warpaint circled the field at the beginning of each game and after each touchdown. In a

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

game against the Oakland Raiders, the Chiefs won 42–10, prompting Warpaint to circle the field for each of the Chiefs' six touchdowns. Raiders head coach

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pla ...

, following the loss, quipped that "We couldn't beat the Chiefs, but we damn near killed their horse". After Bob Johnson retired, he was replaced in the 1978-79 season by Pete Runyan and Cheryl McDaniel, both local experienced riders who in a move toward gender equality took turns riding Warpaint after passing a bareback riding audition. The first Warpaint was

foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal i ...

ed in 1955, and the second in 1968. The second Warpaint died in 2005 at the age of 37 at Benjamin Stables in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

where it is now buried. The horse made an appearance at a

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

Chiefs game where it received a

standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...

from a sold-out crowd.Veterinary Medical Review University of Missouri-Columbia Fall/Winter 1999
(pdf)

Modern day

On September 20, 2009, a new Warpaint was unveiled at the Chiefs' home opener against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium. The horse is ridden by Susie, a Chiefs cheerleader, in contrast to the original headdress-clad rider in its first incarnation. Due to a positive response from fans at the first appearance, Warpaint and Susie began to appear at all home games, including at pregame events. Warpaint would also make appearances at the Chiefs Training Camp for days with special events for fans. On July 26, 2021, as a part of the team eliminating the use of Native American imagery, the Chiefs announced that Warpaint will be retired again.

References

{{Kansas City Chiefs Horse mascots Kansas City Chiefs