Ask Cari

Click here to see RJ and Mr. T are on the morning news in CT where we were teaching a clinic this week.

Mr. T looks stunning in his dressage gear along with RJ in his western saddle riding down main street in downtown Lexington, KY for the Horse Parade to kick off the opening of the World Equestrian Games which is being hosted for the first time in the United States.  These are two of the most famous horses featured in Hollywood films today.  Fans traveled from around the country to meet them at the International Equestrian Festival last week.  For more information, read Dressagedaily.com

Another fun day at Windrock Farm with the kids learning to ride the obstacle course,

Vanessa cantered on Bond for the first time and loved it.  Alex and Maddie took turns riding Mr. T with Rex through all of the obstacles. Everyone learned to ride with rhythm, balance and confidence through the cans, noodles, over and under the tarp, the crows and throwing the ball through the hoop.

Vanessa rides Tony with Cari on Allez and Lauren on a late summer afternoon.  Learning to ride with excellent balance and rhythm at Windrock Farm.  You can never start too early.  Learning correct basics from the beginning will result in a skilled confident rider.

Fiona demonstrates her talent for trick riding on Goldie with Rex on Mr. T, just back from filming on location in Texas.   Seven Days in Utopia (2011) is a new film about a professional golfer who finds himself on a horse ranch and Mr. T had a scene in a rain storm rearing to drop a stunt rider doubling for the principal actress.  T is back in New York for another day on Arthur (2011), a film we worked on this summer with Jennifer Garner and Russell Brand.

After several long days of hard work at Old Westbury Gardens on the set of the new film, Arthur, Jennifer Garner bows Mr. T to thank everyone for the successful hours of shooting the horse sequences.  Russell Brand and Jenn were excellent students, learning to work with Mr. T and trust him for each scene.  The entire cast and crew gave Rex and Mr. T a standing ovation at the completion of the day.

Mini was the star of a local play at a camp in Wingdale Sunday evening,

Lauren walked him on stage and handled him with finesse as the audience roared with delight.  The campers were so excited to meet Mini and many have never been close to a horse.

Learning to ride is fun, especially at Windrock Farm when one of the trainers is the man who trained the horses for The Horse Whisperer.  Rex has a special gift teaching kids to be confident and accomplish goals they never dreamed of.  Here is Fiona standing on RJ’s four year old filly after a long hack at Wethersfield.

Cari and Rex working with Mr. T and Lizard on the set of Arthur in Long Island.  The weather held out for the filming to be a success.  Every scene had three cameras on to maximize the coverage for each set up.  The horses worked well and the actors progressively improved with their riding skills as the day progressed.  The film stars Jennifer Garner and Russell Brand.

We have to rear Mr. T for an upcoming scene in a film with the two main actors on the horse.  To demonstrate how easy this is on a well schooled horse, we put a novice young rider behind Cari in the saddle and asked T to stand up.  He lifts up effortlessly and waits for Rex to let him down.  There will also be stunt doubles for the main actors if they are not comfortable with the scene.

Bard Summerscape is like a rural version of the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It brings together visual and performing artists as both presenters and audience, creating a cultural center of gravity for the Hudson Valley.  Rex is visiting from California and met up with a colleague, David Straithearn.  They worked together on the film Temple Grandin.

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.

Anyone can learn to become a competent rider if you understand the basics of horsemanship and how horses think.  Horses are herd animals so it is crucial that you understand that you are the leader of the herd.  We train horses to listen to our command on the ground when working with actors who have little experience riding.  The audience rarely realizes that the horses on screen are being directed by a trainer off camera.

We are rehearsing a scene for a film where the main actors are riding double and the horse rears.  It takes hours of training and conditioning to prepare the horse for the days of shooting.  And then it takes a great deal of patience to work with the actors so they do not panic.  If the rider panics the horse will not perform and a day of filming could be lost.  As with everything, preparation is the key to success.  Remember the old boyscout saying, “be prepared.”

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.

Last weekend, our youngest student, Vanessa, age 3 rode Rex’s three year old stud colt who has only 16 rides on him,he is a lovely horse who proves if you start them correctly with no mistakes, you have a super horse.

Hollywood horse, Harbor Mist,  is in the upcoming film Secretariat where Diane Lane portrays  Penny Chenery, the owner of the famous red horse.  The Disney film will be released in October this year, and Harbor Mist will be at the Belmont May 29-30 at the Northeast Equine Expo, come visit Harbor Mist and his trainer Rex Peterson.  Rex is a master horseman who has trained horses to perform some stunts many have claimed impossible, including burying a horse alive to jump up out of the desert for a music video.  Nothing is impossible but it may take hours to train and will require tremendous trust and patience.

A new book to teach you how to ride effectively and safely from day one to day one thousand.  Excellent exercises to test your skills as a rider and your horse’s training.  Beautiful illustrations by Mary Bridgman and photographs demonstrating clearly how to ride better.  Order Whoa Means Whoa! from Blurb now.