FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES AUGUST 2012 91
Hollywood Director Ang Lee meets RJ, with Cari Swanson in the saddle,
on the set of Taking Woodstock.
Photo by Ken Regan/Camera Five
Hightower, one of the horse stars of The Horse Whisperer,
shown here being cued for scenes by owner/trainer Rex
Peterson
Photo by Ken Regan/Camera Five
Hightower in full makeup waiting on his cues
Photo by Ken Regan/Camera Five
affrms Cari. “The goal is to ride each horse with the lightest aids
to achieve harmony no matter what the discipline.”
Hightower & RJ
Rex credits Hightower with teaching him that a horse doesn’t
have to be the best athlete, conformation or frame to be successful.
In fact, the trainer found that the more you do with the horse, the
better the horse becomes; he drags logs on dressage horses,
jumps western horses and trains on the trails with jumpers. The
flming of Hidalgo turned out to be a challenge on many levels -
from running the wild horse herd in Montana to the logistics of
shipping the main cast of horses to Morocco.
“I could write a book about the misadventures of the flm,”
admits Rex. “Working in Northern Africa presented many issues
including the language barriers, dust storms, local customs, etc.
The production was cut short when I got sick and had to return
to California for medical treatment and since the horses worked
only for me, the entire company was shut down. We had to fnish
flming at various locations in California and match the desert
scenes.”
Throughout the flming of Hidalgo, the “green-broke” RJ showed
his uncanny intelligence as well as his very unique equine sense
of humor. “Working with him on a set is fun because he’s a natural
star and a consummate professional,” says Cari. “RJ is aware of
the placement of cameras and crew at all times. I remember one
scene where RJ was laying on a dirt road after being shot by the
enemy. The actor was pretending to have his leg trapped under
the horse and RJ gave the director over a dozen different dying
scenes from high drama to quietly melting into the earth. I was
stunned by his range and the director thought I was cueing each
response. RJ was amazing to watch.”
Rex and Cari have worked with human actors, too. While a
few like to do their own riding – Julia Roberts, for example, in
Runaway Bride, and Viggo Mortensen in Hidalgo and Appaloosa
– others aren’t as comfortable in the saddle or even on the ground.
Many scenes have been shot with Rex hidden, providing the cues
for the horse. Once you’re in the theatre, eyes glued to the big
screen, you won’t notice anything but the perfection and beauty of
these four legged Hollywood actors, genius equus.
Recent projects for Swanson Peterson Productions include
a commercial for Swedish Horse Racing (Google ATG – The
Rush. English): a herd of 30 horses gallop down a mountain and
across the prairie with no incidents or injuries. They also flmed
footage of black horses rearing for the Queen of England’s Jubilee
Celebration and commented: “You never know what’s around the
corner.”
Cari and Rex are available for clinics and lessons at their farm
(they will also travel to you), correcting a variety of problems from
resistance to loading to behavioral issues under saddle and in
harness. They can and will teach you and your Dobbin tricks.
http://swansonpetersonproductions.com/