We have been working on many different breeds of horses with a variety of issues to correct. This walking horse was a champion in the show arena and is now a trail horse. Because of his training for the class caused him to have flashbacks while mounting and moving off for the first few steps.
We have been working with Chiller to build his confidence to stand quietly and not panic in the first step off. He is improving every day and is incredibly comfortable to ride.
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.
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.
Remember the film Sylvester? This was a famous horse film from 1985 about a young girl who becomes a successful eventing athlete with her gray horse. Several horses trained by Rex Peterson played the role of Sylvester. Supertramp was the amazing show jumper seen here sailing over a very wide truck. He came from the show jumping world because he refused to jump in spite of his amazing talent. Rex re-schooled him for the film, helping him find his confidence again. This film inspired many young riders to compete in the world of eventing.
As you prepare for the eventing season, it is important that you study the new rules and be prepared for your competitions. Take this down time in the winter to read the new rules.
And go out and rent Sylvester if you have not seen it in a while to inspire you for the new season.
Harbor Mist affectionally known as T, has a pivotal scene in the new HBO film, Temple Grandin. Don’t worry if you missed the premiere, just check the schedule on HBO for listings. Claire Danes gives a stellar performance as Temple Grandin. The story of this remarkable woman is fascinating and a must see for anyone interested in the humane treatment of animals. Rex worked with T on the film for a pivotal scene where the horse called “Chestnut” is wild and fights everyone until Temple meets him. Later in the script “Chestnut” dies and Temple is very upset when she sees him lying under a tarp. You can see him rear, fight and play dead. T lies absolutely still, fooling everyone on the set. T was discovered on the racetrack where he won three races in his career. He was cast as the lead horse in Dreamer. T is a remarkable Hollywood horse who always delivers a solid and convincing performance.
Rex received a last minute call from a production company in LA to bring horse to a commercial for Verizon. Originally they requested a horse to rear under saddle and then gallop off into the desert. When we arrived on set, the director decided he wanted something entirely different. Tye was the Directors pick of the 3 horses Rex brought including Tuff and Copper. You can see in the final commercial his performance is nothing like the original story board. Fortunately the client loved the look and result of the cowboy being knocked to the ground. After the first couple takes I think Tye thought he was supposed to knock the cowboy to the ground, so with each new take he gave it more drama and gusto. Rex and his son Ryan, worked Tye from the ground while I rode a pick up horse with another outrider so that after e we could bring Tye back to the set after each take. Special effects had some difficulty blowing up the explosives, with several duds and a few times of only a black cloud which created a wall so that Tye ran the wrong direction, circling back behind camera to his stablemates. It was a long hot day in the desert, but in the end everyone was thrilled with the result you see here.