Saddling up With Anna Low and Rory Mctavish

“The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit and freedom.” – Sharon Ralls Lemon What is it about horses that makes some swoon and others marvel at the way they move? The flare of a nostril, a tail flick, heaven forbid a whinny and those damn eye lashes surrounding the biggest molten eyes that pierce through you to unveil your undying love and admiration to them. Or for some, the intimidation around such a large beast and then be asked to ride brings sheer panic and nausea. Whether you are an avid fan or live in fear of them, horses exhume a mystical presence that many other four-legged creatures do not.

And yes we’ve all heard the archaic saying “never work with children and animals” but many would agree that any chance to be in the vicinity of working around horses becomes a highlight to your day to day existence.

Two people that couldn’t agree more are Horse Master’s Anna Low and Rory McTavish who have the privilege of building their career up around working with these majestic beauties. Together along with other companies have started a collective called NZ Film Horse Alliance. We asked them to share their fondest memories and career highlights as they look back on past experiences as part of New Zealand’s Film and TV industry.

Auckland based Anna Low (Mama Low Ltd) has worked with horses for 40 years, 22 of these have been in the Film and TV industry while also providing horse work for corporate and live events. A particular niche for Anna are medieval displays & competitive horse archery, something Anna excels at given she’s an ex NZ horse archery champion.

The success and experience of both has allowed Anna to travel around the country for competitions and re-enactments, both on and off camera.

We asked Anna to tell us more...

Tell us about the Medieval work you do with horses.

Currently I lead a team of horses and riders that are experienced in skill at arms and performing live in front of an audience and we do medieval performance on film. Our horses are well trained war horses and we have alliances with Viva LA dirt league. We also work with First Scene and Propeller who supply costumes and dressings. As well as this work being a whole lot of fun, it’s given me contacts up and down the country for future re-enactments.

What’s been your latest shoot where the medieval style has been the focus?

We recently did a music video with Michael Murphy’s band, Written by Wolves.

We provided the Knights horses. We also performed at Medieval Madness, and showcased our horse archery team.

What’s been the most challenging role you’ve had to train a horse in?

That was Horse Master and Safety Supervisor on a Reality TV series My Big Fat Indian wedding for sure. It was a US / Indian Co production that was shot in New Zealand due to the bride being a Kiwi. Not much can match 14 horses, 40 wranglers, 1000 people, 8 helicopters and all being filmed live and beamed to 80 million people.

That was also my largest production and while we have since done many more weddings, none have been quite on that scale.

Equitana Auckland (Australasian largest equine event) was also quite challenging logistically. 60 presentations over 4 days with 6 horses, 8 riders and 10 wranglers.

How many horses do you currently have on your books, what breeds and what key capabilities do they have?

I have two hero horses, two up and coming heroes and two veterans who are now semi-retired. We have a type, rather than a breed. A NZ Stationbred. A stable nimble horse that is beautiful, powerful and supple. Stationbred is a term that describes the environment that it was brought up in rather than its breeding. The key capabilities of my horses, are what we also look for in our human team! Being able to take direction under pressure, to perform when all eyes are on them all the while thriving in that spotlight. They also need to bring calm when chaos is all around them, and be always trusting, even when scared.

Outside of your own horses, do you have access to other horses when a Production requires numerous or specific horses?

Yes I have access to as many as I need NZ wide due to an alliance of horse trainers and wranglers. There’s a great network of companies working together to raise the profile of the NZ Film and crew. Working together helps showcase our experience and talents collectively to the domestic and international companies requiring our services. I have actually jumped between the Horse department and Transport department for about 15 years now also and have got to know most of the locations used in film very well. This helps us advise productions when they are considering using horses on set and how to move them round the country in a non-stressful, streamlined way.

What’s the most important aspect when creating a relationship with a horse when training it for a specific role?

The most important aspect of any role is time. Our live work has shown us the importance of prep. Nothing can substitute time.

In all of your years of experience what horse pops into your head and why?

Cruise, always Cruise. Cruise is my Percheron X Anchor Horse who’s been with me for 24 years and is now retired. He has taught me so much over the years. Cruise was the first horse to teach me a quiet horse is not in control, but an in control horse is always quiet. He's taken me round the country, and never missed a beat. He’s stable and reliable about grounding the other horses when sometimes they get anxious. He's had riders who have never touched a horse before ride him at a gallop with no saddle and bridle. He shares his energy with the crew and helps them learn that horses that are trained and prepped well are fit for purpose and love their jobs.

Anything you’d like to add Anna?

Our methods of training should be transparent and able to be scrutinized to the highest level. Training is continually upskilling and learning how to do things better. Things that benefit the animal as well as the trainer. The days of using animals as if they are machines is coming to an end thankfully.

"No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle." - Winston Churchill

Rory McTavish (Action Horse New Zealand) is based in North Canterbury and has over 20+ years’ experience as a professional horseman having worked in both the horse and stunt department all around the country. Within this time Rory has “started” around 1000 horses. He thrives on taking that young paddock ornament or wild St James horse and turning them into trusted mounts for people. Currently, Rory has 8 film horses. They live with him, his wife and boys on their 10-acre block which leads out to the forest bordering Waikuku Beach. Clearly a hard life for Rory’s horses.

We ask Rory about his work history, his horse abilities, and his closest bond.

What are a couple of career highlights for you?

Prince Caspian. I really loved the adventure of it as it was my first time away on a feature with a couple of my own horses. I was watching Ricardo Cruise train horses for 3 months and then one day, Boom, the Stunt Department was short a few stunt riders so I went and asked Al Poppleton if I could join in and next thing I’m a Telmarine soldier. It was from there along with my fledgling horse skills and a few other talents I had picked up from various wild pastimes that I gained admittance to the NZ Stunt Guild.

Another was just recently as Horse master for a short film that was made right here in North Canterbury, ‘The Meek’ directed by Gillian Ashurst. I really enjoyed this film for several reasons; I got to take a nice horse to set, supplied a good rider who is also training in the stunt industry so we could put forward some action. The small cast and crew thing was fantastic and yeah it felt pretty good to be doing the local thing in this beautiful region. If you haven’t seen this short, I encourage you to.

Is there a particular part of horse action or stunts that you and your horses specialize in? No, I don't really have a distinction between my horses as in whether they are cast horses, stunt horses, liberty horses or what have you - my horses need to be versatile just like any film worker.

What is your key focus when faced with challenges in the Industry? If we are to be honest there are tales of animal abuse in our industry, it's the ugly side no one talks about but it exists nonetheless. There is a saying amongst some horsemen, ‘When knowledge runs out, force begins’ which I don’t resonate with so I have purposely made it my business to learn as much as I can from both the young horses I’ve trained as well as the time spent with visiting Horse masters. Additionally on the ground, I learn so much watching the person on the horse because this is in itself a conversation and I hear both sides. I know now how to set the horse up to win, how to not overface the horse but to challenge them nonetheless, and how to make them want to do something for me rather than be too scared not to. This way when the heat really comes on, I am the one to steady the wild heart, to make them brave and confident because when the lights are on and the camera is rolling and all is a go in the chaos of a battle scene, it pays to remember that everyone is acting - except the horse. I would really like to see further supervision of the prepping of horses for film to ensure welfare issues are observed. I’d also like to see better cooperation between the Stunt and Horse departments again.

What’s the most important thing for you and your horses when performing on sets? That would be preparation. Everyone (humans and horses) needs to know what’s being asked and when to play their part. There’s a saying ‘Proper preparation prevents poor performance.’

In all your years’ experience what horse do you have the strongest affinity with and why? My favourite saddle horse is a big black Fresian ‘Wolf’. We were both born on December 19th with a few decades between us which I’ve always thought this connection was a bit special. He was pretty feral when I went and brought him as a 3-year-old but would now be the bravest and most versatile horse I have ever come across. Wolf loves to work both horses and cattle, I use him in ANZAC parades, on film sets right in the action. My 9-year-old also loves riding him. He’s an absolute champ when we help run stunt riding schools with the awesome NZ Stunt School, and right now he’s working with Shooting Star Stunt Riding where he has learned trick riding and mounted archery to a high level. He’s got not a bad liberty run on him too!

Ok quick side-line question – what’s a liberty run? A liberty run is where a horse is taught a movement pattern or tricks without a rider to assist.

Any last comments Rory? I just want to say that I feel privileged to be part of this industry and grateful to have colleagues and friends like Dayna Grant (NZ Stunt School) and Anna Low, who as part of NZ Film Horse Alliance help champion the horse in movie land.

“In riding a horse, we borrow freedom” – Helen Thompson