Actors and riding

[The Fuzzy Furry]

That would explain a lot !



It's a small world is it not ! Our 'Puff ' was smaller than the real deal I think , and a really washed out pally colour ( I remember the real Puff being a really golden pally ? ) so really looked nothing like him ! He could only have been used for vague " Oh look , there's Puff standing far , far away in the distance " type shots ! And ours was called ( inevitably ! ) Blow .

Puff was about 12hh and def no bigger than 12.2, he was a grumpy little soul unless you produced treats lol. He looked bigger on screen as most of the cast were not particularly tall ? Susan, Jenny and Tommy arrived with a huge cake for Puffs 30th birthday!
He only went pale in the winter - like palomino's do.

 

[Caol Ila]

This is a good zombie thread.

Read somewhere that Liv Tyler, Arwen in LOTR, was terrified of horses. No way was she getting on one. So for all the close-up shots, they used a mechanical horse that rocked back and forth, and for the wider angle ones, a stunt rider rode that pretty PRE. I think the stunt rider/trainer ended up owning the stallion at the end of filming.

Seen a couple Netflix shows recently where the actors rode the horses to a secluded spot for an intense, heart-to-heart conversation, and they just let the reins drag on the ground while the horses grazed, going nowhere, and the characters paid zero attention to them. Obviously their handlers were just off screen, but I'm sure every horse person who watched that was thinking, "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Also, watched a couple episodes of Outlander and could not get past people riding Friesians around the Scottish Highlands in the 1745 Rebellion. I couldn't do it. Could suspend disbelief for the time travelling bit, but not the damned Friesians.

 

[Millie-Rose]

As much as I love Sean Bean in Sharpe it's amusing that we all like him on a horse as in the books he hates horses and avoids whereever possible. As an officer he is supposed to ride but prefers to walk with his men and is always getting grief from his superiors for it. He also once joined a cavalry charge as he "couldn't stop the bloody horse" ?

 

[Mrs B]

I know Micky Dolenz from the Monkees rode as I suddenly found him next to me when I was out hunting in about 1983 ... nearly fell off!

I did some stunt riding of sorts for a poster campaign for Manikin cigars when I was 19 - they wanted a blonde, curvy girl to ride an white horse bareback at a gallop and whilst it did a full rear (again bareback) ... and the art dept would put wings on it to turn it into Pegasus, which was the Manikin logo ...

I worked as a booker for a Page 3 agency at the time (long story!) and they'd contacted us for potential models and we didn't have any who could ride much, so I took a flyer and went to the casting myself ... which is how a short-haired brunette with a body like an ironing board got the gig ?

Then they decided the model should be bareback too and that's how I ended up in a HUGE blonde wig and war paint galloping an Andalusian stallion, pretty much buck-naked alongside one of the roads to Torremolinos ...

The poster got banned by Mary Whitehouse. One of my proudest moments.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

I saw a film think it was called Gift Horse, on Netflix recently- the spoilt girl was mean to her "champion" horse...

This "champion" horse was jumping 2 foot fences

Stable girl took over said "Champion" horse, was having lessons but continued holding the reins upside down, the "champion" horse was so stuffy she could barely make it trot

It culminated in her winning at some tiny show,

It would have been better if it was some future Badminton horse and she had to learn to ride to be able to ride it etc as it was it was annoying me especially the rein holding and the repeated reminder this was a champion horse!

 

[TheOldTrout]

Viggo Mortensen did all his own riding in the LOTR trilogy and also for Hildago, but then he is an accomplished horseman already. Infact, he seemed to purchase most of the film horses afterwards too!
Richard Armitage on a horse in Robin Hood, now we are talking...

Didn't VM buy one of the LOTR horses and give it to one of the stunt riders on the film who'd taken a shine to it? I'm sure I read that somewhere.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

This is a good zombie thread.

Read somewhere that Liv Tyler, Arwen in LOTR, was terrified of horses. No way was she getting on one. So for all the close-up shots, they used a mechanical horse that rocked back and forth, and for the wider angle ones, a stunt rider rode that pretty PRE. I think the stunt rider/trainer ended up owning the stallion at the end of filming.

Seen a couple Netflix shows recently where the actors rode the horses to a secluded spot for an intense, heart-to-heart conversation, and they just let the reins drag on the ground while the horses grazed, going nowhere, and the characters paid zero attention to them. Obviously their handlers were just off screen, but I'm sure every horse person who watched that was thinking, "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Also, watched a couple episodes of Outlander and could not get past people riding Friesians around the Scottish Highlands in the 1745 Rebellion. I couldn't do it. Could suspend disbelief for the time travelling bit, but not the damned Friesians.

As I understand it, some of those who rode a faked horse in Lord Of The Rings did it because they couldn't really ride. Some others could, but it just didn't always work with using a real horse.

 

[Caol Ila]

As I understand it, some of those who rode a faked horse in Lord Of The Rings did it because they couldn't really ride. Some others could, but it just didn't always work with using a real horse.

That clip made my night. The outtakes must be epic. People are meant to be super serious and dour because they're riding off to war, but they're actually pretending to have sex with a f*cking barrel. Who could keep a straight face?

Enjoyed the anecdote about David Wenham disappearing from a shot because his horse took off. Which actor said something along the lines of never work with animals or children in film?

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Didn't VM buy one of the LOTR horses and give it to one of the stunt riders on the film who'd taken a shine to it? I'm sure I read that somewhere.

He bought Florian who played Arwen's white horse, and gave to the stunt woman who rode him. I've read that Mortensen said in 2020 that both his 2 LOTR horses have now died, but that Florian is still alive.

 

[HashRouge]

I know Micky Dolenz from the Monkees rode as I suddenly found him next to me when I was out hunting in about 1983 ... nearly fell off!

I did some stunt riding of sorts for a poster campaign for Manikin cigars when I was 19 - they wanted a blonde, curvy girl to ride an white horse bareback at a gallop and whilst it did a full rear (again bareback) ... and the art dept would put wings on it to turn it into Pegasus, which was the Manikin logo ...

I worked as a booker for a Page 3 agency at the time (long story!) and they'd contacted us for potential models and we didn't have any who could ride much, so I took a flyer and went to the casting myself ... which is how a short-haired brunette with a body like an ironing board got the gig ?

Then they decided the model should be bareback too and that's how I ended up in a HUGE blonde wig and war paint galloping an Andalusian stallion, pretty much buck-naked alongside one of the roads to Torremolinos ...

The poster got banned by Mary Whitehouse. One of my proudest moments.

You have GOT to share a copy of the poster!!!

 

[FinnishLapphund]

That clip made my night. The outtakes must be epic. People are meant to be super serious and dour because they're riding off to war, but they're actually pretending to have sex with a f*cking barrel. Who could keep a straight face?

Enjoyed the anecdote about David Wenham disappearing from a shot because his horse took off. Which actor said something along the lines of never work with animals or children in film?

 

[Caol Ila]

Does anyone remember the Top Gear episode where Richard Hammond rode a cob in a hunt, which was chasing Jeremy Clarkson driving a Daihatsu Terios? Richard didn't look amazing, but he could have done worse. I think his wife is very horsey, so he must ride a wee bit.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I saw a film think it was called Gift Horse, on Netflix recently- the spoilt girl was mean to her "champion" horse...

This "champion" horse was jumping 2 foot fences

Stable girl took over said "Champion" horse, was having lessons but continued holding the reins upside down, the "champion" horse was so stuffy she could barely make it trot

It culminated in her winning at some tiny show,

It would have been better if it was some future Badminton horse and she had to learn to ride to be able to ride it etc as it was it was annoying me especially the rein holding and the repeated reminder this was a champion horse!

Am I the only one who often gets so mesmerized by the fact that there is a horse in the scene, so it has to be really blatant like white rubber reins on a horse in the supposedly 17??/18?? something, for me to get a bit distracted by it?

 

[millikins]

Just remembered, my instructor in the early 70s had worked on, and had a small riding double bit in Carry on Cowboy and had the job of trying to teach Sid, Charles, Kenneth etc to ride . Not quite Sean and co but apparently it was great fun?

Not horses but I read a "Carry on" story. Either Carry on Cleo or Up the Kyber, they were supposed to be in a desert, but the sand dunes on the South Coast were all the budget would run to. The camel they used was borrowed from Chessington Zoo, it had never set foot on sand in its life and refused to walk on it so they had to lay boards for it to use and cover them with sand!

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

I know Micky Dolenz from the Monkees rode as I suddenly found him next to me when I was out hunting in about 1983 ... nearly fell off!

I did some stunt riding of sorts for a poster campaign for Manikin cigars when I was 19 - they wanted a blonde, curvy girl to ride an white horse bareback at a gallop and whilst it did a full rear (again bareback) ... and the art dept would put wings on it to turn it into Pegasus, which was the Manikin logo ...

I worked as a booker for a Page 3 agency at the time (long story!) and they'd contacted us for potential models and we didn't have any who could ride much, so I took a flyer and went to the casting myself ... which is how a short-haired brunette with a body like an ironing board got the gig ?

Then they decided the model should be bareback too and that's how I ended up in a HUGE blonde wig and war paint galloping an Andalusian stallion, pretty much buck-naked alongside one of the roads to Torremolinos ...

The poster got banned by Mary Whitehouse. One of my proudest moments.

Epic !!!

 

[Lyle]

In my youth, I was a riding double for the kid's tv show 'The Saddle Club', based on the books of the same name. Was an incredible experience for 12 year old me! No school for 4 months, and just riding horses alllllll day

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Does anyone remember the Top Gear episode where Richard Hammond rode a cob in a hunt, which was chasing Jeremy Clarkson driving a Daihatsu Terios? Richard didn't look amazing, but he could have done worse. I think his wife is very horsey, so he must ride a wee bit.

Hammond can ride, he's safe enough to do 3 gears on a hack and pop the odd small jump

 

[Mrs B]

You have GOT to share a copy of the poster!!!

Not a good shot of it but ... It was the wording 'Sheer Enjoyment' plus riding a horse naked that upset them, apparently ...?

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Does anyone remember the Top Gear episode where Richard Hammond rode a cob in a hunt, which was chasing Jeremy Clarkson driving a Daihatsu Terios? Richard didn't look amazing, but he could have done worse. I think his wife is very horsey, so he must ride a wee bit.

Didn't find the whole episode, but I found this

And this shortish clip from Burma

Oh, totally besides the subject, but I'm sure some of you might enjoy watching this Pony Express vs Muscle Cars from Top Gear USA, which I stumbled across while searching for the above

 

[alexomahony]

Talking of fit actors and riding horses - I found the Duke on Bridgerton to have fantastic technique. He was a great rider too!

 

[Rokele55]

My mother's claim to fame is legging up Roger Moore at pinewood studios. She doesn't remember the film, but does remember his thighs...

 

[Cloball]

Stables I went for a trek at in Glen Orchy told me that lots of the local girls and their ponies and the trekking yard ponies were extras for the riders of Rohan in LOTRs. They wore fake beards and the ponies kept getting over excited and galloping off sans teenage girl. I thought it made for a highly entertaining picture ?

 

[fredflop]

Indianna was on last night ??

 

[sarahmac77]

My daughter worked on the horse team for Game of Thrones and believe me not all is as it seems on screen!

Oh my god.... tell us more!

 

[OldNag]

My mother's claim to fame is legging up Roger Moore at pinewood studios. She doesn't remember the film, but does remember his thighs...

How wrong is it on a scale of 1 to 10 that I'm pretty jealous of your mother

 

[OldNag]

Not a good shot of it but ... It was the wording 'Sheer Enjoyment' plus riding a horse naked that upset them, apparently ...?


View attachment 63443

That's an amazing story MrsB

Even better that it annoyed Mrs Whitehouse

Do you think they'd have objected if the strapline had been "mild enjoyment" or "moderate enjoyment"?

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

That's an amazing story MrsB

Even better that it annoyed Mrs Whitehouse

Do you think they'd have objected if the strapline had been "mild enjoyment" or "moderate enjoyment"?

I should jolly well think they objected - you're not wearing a hat or sensible boots !

But seriously - what an amazing photo , you look absolutely stunning ! Every woman should have a photo of themselves looking like that , for all the days when we feel totally cr*p !

 

[teapot]

I know of a univeristy degree course for theatre/acting, where they can do two semesters of riding as one of their 'skills'. Apparently the rise in Downton esk series has driven the demand for actors that know which end of a horse is which.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Kayley Cuoco show jumps and not little tracks either, she rides 1.30 courses. Her and her husband both do it and he has a good instagram account which he gives updates on his horses and sometimes has a live chat when he is cooling them down explaining a few things he does and why. I like the fact all his horses have their own saddles.

 

[Mrs B]

I should jolly well think they objected - you're not wearing a hat or sensible boots !

I did get concussion falling from one of the horses we rode in the practice week in the UK - they were Chipperfield's Circus arabs and one of them just fired me straight off as soon as I got him into a canter up the field. They were a bit sheepish about that, as apparently he was known to do it and they wanted to see if I could stay on ... gee, thanks!

And thank you - it's a loooong time ago now and I can't quite believe it's me, but its lovely to have done it.