Home | List of Articles | Submit an Article | Contact Us

Hollywood Horse Stories

A recent Hollywood rumor was that Tobey Maguire injured his back during the making of Sea Biscuit doing horseback riding scenes, making him unable to star in the sequel to Spider-Man. Although it turned out to be false, he rode a mechanical horse in the film, many actors have had close calls working with horses.

One example was Michael Caine, whose first movie Zulu (1964) required him to ride a horse after a hunting expedition, which after several embarrassing takes almost bought his career to a premature end. "I thought you said you had riding lessons!" said the angry director. "I did!" said the beleaguered star. "And the first thing I learned was I never wanted to ride one of these bloody things again!"

He wasn't the only one. Jack Nicholson took a hard fall in The Missouri Breaks (1976) which he shrugged off saying,"It would have hurt if I was a real person instead of a movie star."

Some performers get along famously with their horses, the relationship can go on for years. Gene Autry had Champion trained to jump through a ring of fire at rodeos, the stunt always worked perfectly until Champion aged and Gene had to replace him. Gene exhibited no concern when he was advised by trainers that the new Champion was not ready for prime time his first night on the job. "It'll be all right boys!" reassured the cowboy through swigs of tequila. The big moment came, the new horse rode out with Gene toward the burning ring and came to a dead stop, sending the famous cowboy star flying to complete the stunt on his own. The crowd gasped but luckily Gene was more drunk than hurt, he simply got up and took a bow like it was all planned.

Most stars won't take chances. David Niven bribed a trainer fifty dollars so he would get to ride a gentle nag while filming The Prisoner Of Zenda (1937). He brought his animal next to Raymond Massey's stallion, and both reluctant riders prepared for the director to call action. Suddenly Niven noticed a shadow above him, Massey's horse had risen on it's hind legs. Niven realized his nag was in heat and dived out the way as Massey's stallion came down on Niven's mare. He watched stunned as the helpless Massey bounced on top of what now looked like a giant rocking horse!

About the Author

Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks "Fascinating Walt Disney" and "Tales Of Hollywood". The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says," these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining." Hear realaudio samples of these great, unique gifts at www.hollywoodstories.com.

Related Articles:

No Horse is Too Dead to Beat! - Remember the sandwich with the image of the Virgin Mary on it that sold on ebay for thousands of dollars? That's a perfect example that "no horse is too dead to beat!" Many probably wondered what did this person do to sell something of, apparently, no value whatsoever. Three important factors, in fact, very ...

Worms, Horses, Bugs and Thugs - You will notice that as wagering on a race progresses closer to post time, the odds will change. Why is that you ask? The Cash that is wagered in a horse race is counted up and put into Pools. What is a Pool? A Pool is where the total amount of money that is wagered on a specific type of bet is held to be redistri ...

Horse Racing Betting Odds - You will notice that as wagering on a race progresses closer to post time, the odds will change. Why is that you ask? The Cash that is wagered in a horse race is counted up and put into Pools. What is a Pool? A Pool is where the total amount of money that is wagered on a specific type of bet is held to be redistri ...

Horse Betting - Placing a bet on football always seemed easier to me, so that’s what I would do. Even now we’ll only put money down on horses once in a while. There are a few different types of wagering when it comes to horses. The most common, the one you see Moe betting on all the time on The Simpsons, is what is called s ...

Stress in Horses - Placing a bet on football always seemed easier to me, so that’s what I would do. Even now we’ll only put money down on horses once in a while. There are a few different types of wagering when it comes to horses. The most common, the one you see Moe betting on all the time on The Simpsons, is what is called s ...

White Horse Weather Vanes - Many years ago I attended a motivational seminar (one of many!) where the speaker made quite a startling comment. He was talking about the power of co-operation and how it was so much easier to achieve a goal when everybody was pulling together. He gave an example. He started off by making a statement: "A dr ...

For a Complete list of Articles with summaries Click Here