Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
How have I not seen the Top Gear Burma episode??
Actors and riding
- Thread starter Coldfeet!
- Start date
Rowreach
👀
I’m just watching Daniel Craig in Defiance. He cannot ride ?
And his horse is wearing very 21st century tack.
And his horse is wearing very 21st century tack.
HashRouge
Well-Known Member
Patrick Swayze could ride, he and his wife bred Arabs. Don't know if he ever did it in a film though!
Enjoying this thread BTW!
Enjoying this thread BTW!
BBP
Well-Known Member
Who did you ride and when??!
I used to work at the trekking place in Glenorchy so got a lot of inside goss on the Riders of Rohan scenes. So now I watch the movies just watching out for ‘my’ horses.
BBP
Well-Known Member
Has Kevin Costner been mentioned on here yet? I’m thinking dances with wolves.
Cinnamontoast
Fais pas chier!
Watching The Great (don’t judge, I was hoping for a reasonable historical thing) and Nicholas Hoult at one point bombs off on a horse (are they all bloody Friesians, in the 18th century?!). Looks like he can really ride. Either that or he has amazing balance.
Why is it always Friesians??
Omg, absolutely superb!
Wow, stunning! That pout, you look AMAZING!! ?
Why is it always Friesians??
Omg, absolutely superb!
Wow, stunning! That pout, you look AMAZING!! ?
Chinchilla
...
Have not read whole thread but can only think of 2 actors who actually ride: viggo mortensen and William shatner ?
Also CI is right about the lotr stunt double, but mortensen bought the stallion for the stunt rider and one of the horses he rode for himself apparently.
Also CI is right about the lotr stunt double, but mortensen bought the stallion for the stunt rider and one of the horses he rode for himself apparently.
Cortez
Tough but Fair
There are very few actors that can really ride, if they look like they can it's usually down to clever editing and a good stunt double.
Friesians were around in the 18th century, for those of you who object to them in an historical setting. They are often used because they are generally steady, up to weight, and eye catching. Everything else is usually Spanish
Friesians were around in the 18th century, for those of you who object to them in an historical setting. They are often used because they are generally steady, up to weight, and eye catching. Everything else is usually Spanish
Pearlsasinger
Up in the clouds
I used to enjoy quiet Sunday mornings ogling a young Clint Eastwood in repeats of Rawhide. OH thought I was watching the horses
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McFluff
Well-Known Member
I thought that friesian and Spanish horses were historically accurate?
They’re certainly made for the camera.
They’re certainly made for the camera.
Peregrine Falcon
Looking forward to drier days
Ct, but it is funny! ?
laura_nash
Well-Known Member
I know! Really, is it that difficult to find a few quiet highlands for them. I remember OH thought it was funny how thrilled I was that they actually had the right type of horse and tack when we watched Beowulf and Grendel. Then some idiot film critic was on around the time complaining that "real vikings didn't ride ponies" though, so I guess they can't win.
laura_nash
Well-Known Member
I know its more your area than mine Cortez, and I take your point its theoretically possible as the breed did exist at the time, but is it really likely they were the horse of choice for Highlanders during the rebellion?
brighteyes
Pooh-Bah
How wrong is it on a scale of 1 to 10 that I'm pretty jealous of your mother
12
Lexi_
Well-Known Member
I saw this little clip on Instagram today of what looks like him having lessons/riding practice :
Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
I know Friesians were around in the 18th C, but I would be very surprised if anyone was using them in the Scottish Highlands. Infrastructure as we know it did not exist up there until after (and during) the '45 Rebellion, built by the army, initially, to make it easier to put down unrest. Prior to building General Wade's Road, people traveled overland on rough, boggy tracks (or used boats, which could be quicker). A fancy carriage horse would be pretty useless. Travel accounts from that era, like Thomas Pennant's, described people using things resembling Highlands. Even now, not much else can cope with the terrain, the midges, and the weather.
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Lyle
Well-Known Member
I think it's important to note as well, that there are usually multiple filming units, so while the actors are off filming all the acting scenes, there will be other units off on different locations filming other stuff, such as the riding. So even if actors can ride, they really don't have many opportunites.
Cloball
Well-Known Member
I can't remember his name but he was a lovely bay gentlemanly hunter type. I think it must be the same place. We rode up the Dart. Fantastic day! This was 2015.
HashRouge
Well-Known Member
Talking of historically accurate horses, I always really liked the black and white cob ridden by Heston the viking in The Last Kingdom. I remember they had the brothers Erik and Siegfried on what looked like Shire horses too. Always felt a bit more authentic, though I have no idea if it was!
Splash2310
Well-Known Member
There was another clip on Facebook too: https://fb.watch/35bUcqh-qp/
I like how in the clip you posted he talks about having a conversation with someone who knows much more than him - clearly someone taught him well!
Cortez
Tough but Fair
Oh no, absolutely not accurate; they would have been riding garrons or highlands. But remember, Highlander is about time travel, so it's fantasy, not history.
Cortez
Tough but Fair
*Wasn't. Vikings would have ridden something like a Fjord or an Icelandic horse if "at home", and local horses if raiding. Shires were not really Shires until the later 18c, and there is not much evidence for piebald/skewbald horses in the 10/11c.
Kipper's Dick
Well-Known Member
I love this sort of information, really fascinating. Do you have any thoughts, Cortez, as to what type of breeding the destrier might have been? Apparently the knights of old in their shining (and quite heavy) armour weren't riding big ponderous draft horses at all, but smaller and lighter horses?
(Sorry, not meant to de-rail thread, just interested.)
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stormox
Well-Known Member
The yard I worked at supplied horses for that, and 'Carry on Dick' as well as all the Hammer Horrors. Great fun.
Pippity
Well-Known Member
From Royal Armouries (https://royalarmouries.org/stories/all-the-kings-horses/):
"Investigating the physical remains of horses recovered during archaeological excavations can further elaborate on the size and conformation of medieval horses. By the 16th century, warhorses were becoming lighter and swifter, while jousting tournaments continued to favour sturdier destrier-type medieval chargers. The latter were ideal for jousting as they had been carefully bred and trained for mêlée-style combat. Contrary to common belief, these horses were relatively small, rarely reaching more than 14hh or 15hh at the shoulder, more similar to a sturdy pony than the heavy draft horses depicted in modern media."
They rode cobs. This explains so much about cobs.
Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
Yeah, on that Clydesdale documentary that aired on BBC, the most interesting part (for me), was in the brief history of the breed, where they said that during the 19th C, there was basically a draft horse arms race, breeding horses bigger and bigger so they could pull increasingly heavier stuff and plow more fields. That implied that the huge drafts we see today were not the warhorses of old, but rather came out of the 19th century version of Top Gear -- who can get the most horsepower, quite literally.
As far as Outlander goes, the writing and acting weren't good enough for me to look past the wrong horses, or the film locations that were plainly nowhere near Inverness. The time travel thing would have been fine if the script was strong enough carry it, alongside the leaden weight of Friesians, putting the Callanish stones on the mainland, and adding a distinctive pointy rock formation where there is none.
I never said I wasn't a tough audience.
As far as Outlander goes, the writing and acting weren't good enough for me to look past the wrong horses, or the film locations that were plainly nowhere near Inverness. The time travel thing would have been fine if the script was strong enough carry it, alongside the leaden weight of Friesians, putting the Callanish stones on the mainland, and adding a distinctive pointy rock formation where there is none.
I never said I wasn't a tough audience.
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Kipper's Dick
Well-Known Member
What an interesting article, thanks for posting the link.
Cinnamontoast
Fais pas chier!
I really like Nicholas Hoult’s character, although he’s obviously really horrible! ?
FinnishLapphund
There's no cow on the ice
Besides mentioning the Icelandic, and Fjord Horse breeds, according to what I've read, the now extinct breed Ölandshorse had the same origin as today's Icelandic Horse. Today's North Swedish Horse, and the Norwegian Dølehorse, and Nordlandshorse also have the same origin.
The last image of an Ölandshorse, the mare Lilly, from 1922.
From 2005 they've tried to reinvent a type of Ölandshorse, by importing some Estonian Native Horse/Klepper, that was found to have the same genome. The Klepper is said to have developed from an ancient forest horse some thousands years ago.
Today's Klepper/Estonian Native Horse:
Today's North Swedish Horse
But I've also read that there is old drawings/other material which shows Vikings riding horses resembling today's Danish Jutsk/Jutland Horse:
By the way, I think the name Klepper was used in several countries from the middle ages, or around that time, on a type of riding horse. I know it was used in Sweden (ETA but spelled Klippare), but that type of horse was a bit larger than the Estonian Klepper.
Anyhow, back to the subject, I've read that Sam Elliott is more than a decent rider
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Rowreach
👀
I forgot all about this chap. Practically grew up on a horse. Not sure where his trousers went.
