Introducing Our
EQUI PARTNERS
Cari Swanson & Rex Peterson
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Cari on Mr T. & Rex on set of Arthur
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Training Horses On and Off the Screen
By Cari Swanson
Training horses for the FEI dressage arena, a hunter pace, a three-day event, show jumping, team penning to a perform on screen with multi million dollar actors as mounted pedestrians is all the same. The exciting thing about horse training is transforming each equine to work happily and confidently in any situation. Nothing is impossible.
Harbor Mist, affectionally known as Mr. T, around the barn is one of our many Hollywood horses. Mr. T is a ten-year-old thoroughbred off the track who was racing fit with no concept of walk in him when he was cast for Dreamer. Rex successfully prepared him in ten days to work with the young Dakota Fanning who was terrified of horses. Mr. T has become a great cast and trick horse, continuing his career in Temple Grandin as Red. He was also in Disney's Secretariat as one of the many Secretariat's as one of the many Secretariats, a wild horse in the starting gate scene and Secretariat's dam. He also plays a ranch horse in Seven Days in Utopia starring Robert Duvall and Lucas Black. Mr. T's latest film is the remake of the popular Arthur in which Dudley Moore portrayed the drunken billionaire playboy. Lizard, an eleven year old quarter horse, who was in film Hidalgo, worked as his double. A talented cast and crew including Jennifer Garner, Helen Mirren, Nick Nolte , with Jason Winer directing, made our experience with Warner Brothers a pleasure.
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Jen Garner on Mr T
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People often ask us, "What is it like to train horses for film?" Preparing a horse for the show ring is the same as for a scene in a film. Methodical training and patience prepares them for success. Training the actors is something else entirely. If the studio has the intelligence and budget, we can teach them to ride in balance with confidence in a few lessons. However, that was not the case for Arthur. Here is a page from our journal from this experience.
The last day of shooting was ominous. The heavy rain clouds moved in from the Long Island sound as dawn broke on a hot humid July day. This did not bode well for our scheduled shoot on location in the Old Westbury Gardens. The equine actors had to be groomed and braided, camera ready for a 7:30am call on set. We were slightly behind schedule because our producers and camera crew filming us for a reality TV show were late finding the horse farm where we stabled. Barely awake, I inhaled an injection of caffeine to jump start my sleepy brain. Mr. T and Lizard enjoyed a bucket of oats while I quickly braided their manes before shipping to the location.
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Cari and Rex on Lizard and T
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Both horses are seasoned travelers with thousands of hours on set. They marched onto the trailer and were tied in place for the short jaunt to the Bach family estate. Our personal assistant (PA) greeted us at the gate of the estate, directing us to the parking area strategically located next to the honey wagon (an affectionate name for the loo). The teenager/PA was not a horse person; however, she was armed with the all-important walkie-talkie that would alert us to when and where we were at all times. "The horses are en route to camera!," she squawked to the First AD. We unloaded, tacked up, and rode the horses through the elegant formal gardens to meet the cast and crew on set.
Preparation is the key to success for any scene on camera or competition and we came prepared. Upon reading the pages for our scene, it was clear a double horse would be required. Nobody realized that we performed a miracle. Only a true horseman would appreciate the difficulty of finding two horse nearly identical in marking and stature on very short notice. They were so closely matched in the same chestnut coat, tiny white star and white left hind sock, that the script supervisor who was in charge of continuity could not identify the number one horse after watching them both work all day.
Mr. T (and Lizard) played the fancy show jumper owned by Arthur's fiancée Susan (Jennifer Garner). The horses were conditioned for weeks, building their muscles by using trot sets, interval training and methodically rearing each horse with two riders. By the end of the month, Mr. T could stand on his hind feet, pawing the air for the count of twenty-five. Lizard was equally prepared. The script required the horse in several scenes, standing for a photo shoot and then galloping through the formal gardens of the Bach estate, turning and rearing while Susan and Arthur had a fight about his recently revealed infidelity.
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Jennifer Garner & Rex doubling for Russel Brand
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As in most films, horse people will recognize a few inconsistencies with the equine details. In spite of my efforts to explain the correct gear used in our sport, the prop master insisted on a dressage saddle because the art decorator and costume designer preferred the look. In the end, it did not matter because Susan rode in a frothy flowing cream-colored Morgan le Fay cocktail dress that hid the saddle.
We were grateful to learn that our director cut his teeth in television where schedules are tighter and filming is much faster than movies. He was used to setting up shots with multiple cameras to capture different perspectives. The producer told me that each day of filming Arthur cost the studio $160,000. The camera never had to wait for the horse, as Rex stated repeatedly, "If you're waiting for the horse, you're burning daylight." Mr. T is a generous performer, never complaining, working all day with two actors pounding his kidneys. We were careful to have the actors dismount between takes to give him a rest. He also had a brief reprieve when Lizard stepped in to film the galloping and rearing sequences with the stunt doubles.
Preparing the horses for filming is easy. However, prepping the actors for the scenes is another story. Due to scheduling conflicts, we only had one hour with the actors two days before the shoot. Our Arthur, is the multi talented Russell Brand, an English comedian/actor/entertainer who fears horses of any kind. Russell showed up for rehearsal wearing a t-shirt, cut off sweats, flip-flops and no helmet. In such a short time, all we could do was familiarize the actors with the horses and explain that they were mounted pedestrians on professional equine actors. They had to trust us. We would be controlling their speed and direction. I told them, "Just relax and breathe." Jennifer was a natural on the horse and could easily have ridden herself if we had a few days to train. Unfortunately, the studio did not feel it was necessary, so we improvised. For security, wardrobe dressed me as the groom so that I could control the horse on and off camera. In some shots I would send the horse to Rex who stood just off camera and he was controlling the horse with the whips as a conductor instructs the orchestra. Luckily we had excellent riders as stunt doubles (a rarity), so that part of the equation went smoothly. The director was thrilled when we were able to film the shots necessary for the galloping and rearing sequences in a few takes.
"Hurry up and wait," is our mantra. Days of filming are long and arduous, fraught with many glitches and technical difficulties. The crew had to dodge thunderstorms, cameras jamming and airplanes buzzing overhead. During the walk through for camera, Nick Nolte tossed Arthur up behind Susan. Startled, Lizard reacted to the abrupt landing of Russell's long legs wrapped tightly around him by lifting his hindquarters unexpectedly in a mini buck. Anticipating trouble, I held the reins tightly as Russell dove behind Jennifer to the off side, and landed in Rex's arms. Visibly shaken he shouted, "You see, I told you, I do not trust these creatures!" I waved my hands over Lizard's flank and explained, "Think of this area as the Middle East. Tread lightly or be prepared to detonate. Your legs must wrap around the horse like a blanket, not a vise grip." He understood immediately and concentrated very hard during the scene. I was amazed watching Russell's hilarious and engaging performance while he concentrated on not offending his equine co-star.
The sun was sinking on the horizon and just as we lost the last ray of light, the director shouted triumphantly, "Cut!" The cast and crew cheered loudly, giving a standing ovation to the horses who worked patiently all day. Mr. T and Lizard were champions. Russell, Jennifer, the producer and director thanked us for never delaying camera and allowing everyone to live through the day.
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Cari- Mr T-Jen Garner-Russell Brand
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When we are not working on a film, Rex and I travel around the country teaching clinics and giving training demonstrations to help everyone communicate more clearly with his horse. It stands to reason that if we train horses for a twenty million dollar actors to ride safely in complex scenes, we can help anyone with his horse, regardless of discipline. We have been asked to develop a TV show to share our adventures training all kinds of horses to do anything from a complicated stunt on camera to learning ground manners in the backyard. Horses are fascinating animals and the relationship they have with us mere mortals is extraordinary.
