This past spring, Cari Swanson trained me for a western I starred in for Sony/MGM pictures, entitled The Magnificent Seven. Throughout every step of this process, Cari was professional, gentle in nature, patient, kind. She treated her horses as an equal, with respect. I found that to be a rare and dignified trait. She taught me about the importance of peacefulness, unity and the language between a human and these wild animals. I started out fearing them and ended up having a deep understanding for them. It was not until I met Cari that I enjoyed this beautiful process of learning to ride. I immediately related to her great empathy. It was a privilege and a gift to have had trained with this woman. I learned a lot from her, not just how to ride but how to ride with gracefulness and with integrity. I’d recommend her to anyone, and I look forward to joining her and her horses again soon.
Bond, Lily and Billy enjoy Central Park where they are filming a TV show. The cast and crew fell in love with them all and the crowds passing by stopped to photograph them hard at work. For more images from click on http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3650898/Hilary-Duff-whispers-horse-s-ear-films-latest-scene-TV-Land-s-Younger.html
I had the great fortune to spend many months working with Cari Swanson between August 2012 and around February 2013.
I was shooting a film named Winters Tale in New York City during what was a brutally cold winter. The conditions were hard on all concerned and yet I have many fond memories from that time. Working with Cari was one of my fondest of those memories. Her love and deep deep care and regard for the horses that she let me ride while training, plus the animals that were eventually used for filming, was so obvious and beautiful to observe.
Cari nearly died in a horse riding accident. That she would literally get back in the saddle and spend her life committed to the love and care and training of horses is a testament to the fact that they are her one true passion in life.
I have worked with many horse trainers through the years. If only they were all as patient and compassionate and learned as Cari.
