Ask Cari

Estella and her sister, Matilda enjoyed a private viewing of RJ working with his trainer Rex at Thornedale yesterday morning.  The girls were thrilled to watch RJ perform his many tricks and to ride the famous stallion.

We recently took a trip to horse country in Virgina to teach a clinic and were hosted by Rex’s old friend Bobby Duvall and his lovely wife Luciana.  Bobby met RJ/Hidalgo, enjoying watching Rex work him through all his paces.  The two famous actors have a great deal in common.  Rex’s son, Ryan looks on, enjoying all of the family stories Bobby remembers from years of knowing the Peterson’s in Nebraska.

Trigger and all of his doubles were trained by the great horseman, Glenn Randall, Sr.  Rex had the honor to learn from this master horse trainer for nearly two decades.  Glenn could train a horse to do anything, including “empty out” on command.  This video is a great tribute to the legendary horse and his partner.

Check out the latest article about Rex in Saddle Up Magazine

Goldie is a favorite for the kids to ride, here she is learning to work off the whips in the round pen.  This talented filly by RJ has her Daddy’s talent for tricks and learning anything new.

In spite of the cold winter snow day, fans of Hidalgo and Secretariat came out to watch Rex work his two famous equine actors. To find out when you can meet Rex and his horses, check the Clinic Schedule

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

When:  December 5, 2009, 1pm  Open to the Public Where:  Windrock Farm 724 Bangall Amenia Road, Amenia, NY Contact:  Cari Swanson 914.456.3155 cari@cariswanson.com www.SwansonPetersonProductions.com <http://www.SwansonPetersonProductions.com>

More photos available by request

“Secretariat” visits “Hidalgo” in Dutchess County this weekend.  Come meet Rex Peterson, the Internationally acclaimed Hollywood Horse trainer work with two of his famous horses, Harbor Mist (DREAMER, FLICKA, SECRETARIAT) and RJ (HIDALGO, TAKING WOODSTOCK) at Windrock Farm.  Rex is a master horseman who has worked for three decades in the film industry training horses for some of the most complicated scenes with horses, including THE HORSE WHISPERER, BLACK BEAUTY, DREAMER, FLICKA, THE BLACK STALLION, HIDALGO, DREAMER.

HARBOR MIST aka Mr. T is a 10 year old thoroughbred gelding bred to race he was started 51 times he had a career earnings of a little over 40,000 with a lack luster career as a race horse but the right look he was chosen as one of the horses for DREAMER. Schooled to do the lay down hang in the sling follow Dakota Fanning around and play with her I realized he had some charisma about him so after the film ended I took him home and continued to school on him. Mr. T has also worked in commercials and on FLICKA, APPALOOSA, TEMPLE GRANDIN, and most recently in SECRETARIAT.

Rex Peterson will also work his talented RJ, a very famous paint stallion who portrayed Hidalgo in “Hidalgo”, the Disney film co-starring Viggo Mortensen as well as several other films and TV shows.

Rex is one of the requested horse trainers in Hollywood, a favorite of Directors and Actors because of his well-trained horses.  Viggo Mortensen writes: “I have had the privilege of learning about horses and riding from Rex Peterson, and the good fortune to watch up-close the remarkable results he achieves with even the most challenging of horses and riders. He has guided me through the movies “Hidalgo” and “Appaloosa”, and I have been lucky to become his friend and ride many miles in all sorts of conditions with him. He makes his job as horse-master look effortless, but those who have trained under him over the years know it most assuredly is not. He does appear to have a gift for “reading” people and horses, always finding the most suitable teaching approach in each situation, but he works extremely hard every single day, often for many hours at a time”

Come meet Rex Peterson for this rare opportunity to work two of his talented Hollywood horses at liberty and recount many stories about working with horses behind the scene on motion pictures.

Contact:  Cari Swanson 914.456.3155 cari@cariswanson.com www.SwansonPetersonProductions.com <http://www.SwansonPetersonProductions.com>

Jonathan Groff meeting RJ with Ang Lee on the set of “Taking Woodstock” in Millerton , NY.  Jonathan learned to ride with me with only 2 weeks to prep for the scene.  I started teaching him on my schoolmasters before having him ride RJ who is a seasoned Hollywood star.  RJ was one of the horses who played Hidalgo in the Disney classic film of the same name.  RJ spent months on the set in Morocco, Montana and California honing his craft.  Trained by Rex Peterson, RJ learned to work like a pro on set with tthe cast and crew.  Jonathan quickly learned to ride with the help of his background in dance and music, after all riding is all about rhythm and balance.  Jonathan’s riding experience helped secure a role in Robert Redford’s new film “The Conspirator”, currently filming in Savannah, Georgia.

This photo was taken on this mud field for the last scene of the film.  The groundskeeper watered the fields with fire hoses for two days to create the feeling of Woodstock after 4 days of rain.  The ground was so sloppy that RJ refused to walk in it.  The crew had to lay rubber stall mats to create a path for him to have secure footing.

Rex is a master of training horses to perform what many claim impossible.  He is one of the most sought after Horse Trainers in Hollywood known for delivering the shot.  While others may initially underbid him, they end up costing the Studios thousands of dollars when they do not perform the stunt.  Rex in known for performing without fail every time within a reasonable budget.  With a string of highly trained horses, he can handle any situation. Rex is highly regarded by many Directors,  Producers, Actors, Cameramen, and American Humane Officers for protecting them as well as the livestock.

Here you can see his mastery at work with his son Ryan Peterson prepping horses for a commercial film shoot.  The producers asked Rex to bring one trained horse he could rear under saddle for a scene with only 48 hours notice. Rex responded to the call with “no problem, what color do you want, I have a string of 19 to pull from”.   Of course when we arrived on set the scene was changed to have the horse led from the barn, rear, and run off at liberty.  Luckily Rex was prepared with two other mounts who were also trained to rear under saddle or at liberty so we had pick up horses on set to help accomplish the set up with no problem. Rex always shows up prepared and his motto is “Nothing is Impossible”.

Lilah looks on as RJ performs behind her, brother Liam talks to McCoy, Lilah practices for the Kentucky Derby, their dad,Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick will have to pen a song inspired by their new companions.

Last weekend we took a drive to the New Jersey Horse Park to compete in a Judged Trail Ride. We were lucky to stay with our friends Sandy and Ryan Gaum who live nearby.

This event was held at the New Jersey Horse Park on the cross country course with 15 stations where we were judged on how we accomplished the task at hand. Most of the stations were comprised of situations you may encounter on a trail ride such as jumping over a fallen tree, walking over a tarp, walking over a bridge that moves, dismounting and flagging your horse, roping a calf, walking by scary obstacles etc…. Nearly one hundred horses showed up for the annual event, including english and western riders.

I rode Black Gold, RJ’s 3 year old filly who has barely a month of training and she finished an astonishing fourth place! Nothing seemed to phase her as she tackled each obstacle and situation with patience and grace. Joa rode Brownie and Lauren rode Peadar who also performed very well.

This was such a fun event to take any horse to, I would encourage everyone to participate in a Judged Trail Ride with their horse to test their skills and training of their horse. It is also a wonderful experience for any horse to get out in an atmosphere with lots of activity.

RJ is the magnificent steed ridden by Michael Lang, the organizer of the Woodstock Music Festival in Ang Lee’s new film “Taking Woodstock”. This film is the story of a family in NY State who were a part of making the festival happen in a small farming community. No one knew these 3 days would become a massive gathering of over half a million people who would congregate to celebrate music and peace. It was remarkable that there was little violence with such a mass of people at a time of tremendous turmoil.

RJ always makes an impression on screen and was even mentioned in the NY Times review of the film. Be sure to go out and enjoy this film about an amazing time in our history.

Grace rides Black Gold, RJ/Hidalgo’s 3 year old filly who has 11 days of training. This outstanding filly is a talented young horse with an amazing temperament. Black Gold is a 3 year old breeding stock paint mare with a great mind. This jet black filly has been trained by Rex Peterson and Cari Swanson. She is available for sale to someone looking for a special horse, she is such a talented athlete and will excel in any discipline.

Wyatt takes his daily lesson on RJ, his favorite horse at Windrock Farm. Wyatt is visiting for a month from LA.

After 5 years from its premiere, the Disney film “Hidalgo” remains popular among many horse lovers. Every week I receive emails from fans asking about the number of horses used in making this epic tale. Here are good friends, Viggo Mortensen (the human star) and Rex Peterson (the horse trainer) on TJ and RJ behind the scenes on the set in Morocco. You can see the make-up running off the horses faces. Each morning the 2 main cast horses had to sit for over an hour while the make-up crew painted them to look alike. Just another example of the magic of making movies.

Mashantum models the new rope halters made by Rex Peterson, each halter and lead rope is hand tied with a braided noseband designed to fit each horse individually. You can purchase them from directly from Rex

The horse is a beautiful creature So proud and so bold This we can see for ourselves No need to be told

A beautiful creature Right down past his knees I look and behold! What are these???

For his feet are contracted Wry-footed, quarter-cracked And bent Without good feet He’s not worth a cent

For to see a horse limp Gives me grief untold And if Someone’s at fault I’ve been known to scold

Through sandy desert And over rocky trail A horse can’t do his best If his feet they should fail

Though it’s been said before I’ll say it once more A horse can’t do his job well If his feet are sore

A horse should be shod With a sense of panache If he is to run A 300-yard dash

A horse should be shod With a certain sense of style If he is to carry his rider For many a mile

The horse is a beautiful creature Of fine symmetry and form And so should be his feet This should be the norm

It only makes sense That his shoes be made neat So that they only enhance His already beautiful feet

So farriers please endeavor To learn your craft well If you don’t, you’ll cause Many a horse living hell.

Mike Bromley, The Blacksmith Poet

Plan on attending the next clinic with Rex Peterson at Windrock Farm.  Teach your horse how to have perfect ground manners, improve the communication between you and your horse, develop better quality gaits, and develop more confidence training your horse. Contact cari@cariswanson.com for details.

Meet RJ, one of the famous horses Rex has trained for film, RJ starred with Viggo Mortensen in Hidalgo and recently worked with Ang Lee in “Taking Woodstock”.

Rex designed his hobbles out of a soft nylon rope connected with a metal swivel, button knots and braided sliders keep them snug.  Working in the movie business requires horses to be patient and stand for hours.  All of Rex’s horses learn to hobble as part of their basic training.

Patience, patience, patience.  One of Rex Peterson’s training mantras.  Hobbles on a horse prevents a horse on the trailer from pawing or teaches the horse not to fight if he becomes tangled up in a fence or rope.  There are countless benefits to teaching a horse this control.

Always take care when you first put hobbles on your horse.  You must teach a horse to understand the hobbles.  Use a war bridle and work in a controlled space so that you can teach your horse not to fight the control of his front feet.

Rex makes each pair of hobbles, a limited quantity are available for $40 plus $5 shipping in the US.  They can be purchased with a check or Visa/MC on the web site Swanson Peterson Productions or by contacting us directly via email.