There’s a special kind of joy that comes with sharing the childhoods of the past with the kids of today. Thanks to Hammacher Schlemmer, a catalog retailer antiquated in its own right, you can introduce your kids to a ’50s classic. If you’ve got a lot of spare change lying around, that is.
The classic Storefront Champion Ride is a replica of the old coin-operated horse rides that used to sit outside grocery stores back in the ’50s. It’s a full-scale, working model, with a push button instead of a coin slot to get the horse rocking. Kids can enjoy a one minute horse ride set to the dramatic William Tell Overture. This is the same horse ride as the one modeled after Gene Autry’s steed, so this Champion definitely has old-time, Wild West credentials. Plus, you have to figure horse rides and the William Tell Overture are a combination that will span generations, pleasing everyone. But, this is a full-size working model that weighs 400 pounds, so it’s not going to be cheap. The Storefront Champion Ride comes in at (brace yourself) $6,500, with a paltry $800 thrown in for shipping expenses. Galloping adventures don’t come cheap.
