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Thursday, May 13, 2010

TOP KNIGHTS AND THEIR HORSES

Robin Hood countdown

On the heels of Robin Hood I thought I would bring you some of my favorite Knights and their trusty Steed's. Ridley Scott and Russel Crowe are teaming up again for the realistic story of Robin Hood. Robin Hood rides through the waves and rolling hills of Nottingham, on a gorgeous White Horse.


There are some great Medieval movies out there but the ones with that partner relationship between knight and rider are my all time favorites. Horse and rider charging into battle, with no care if they will come out alive, just completely devoted to one another.
Heath Ledger in a Knights Tale didn't necessarily ride into battle but he did have a very trustworthy stead that jousted with no fear. A Draft Mix that belong to a little girl played the hero horse to William Thatcher. From what we see on the film he comes off to be a very calm and laid back guy, I can't say the same for the other horses in the film that the production had quite a hard time with. The Bay draft had no double horses and did everything without a hesitation.

Although Heath Ledger played a more realistic character as William Thatcher, Viggo Mortensen plays Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and has an extremely motivated steed in Bergo. After production of the films Viggo had such a real connection with this Bay horse that he ended up buying him. On his days off him and the horse would just take off and ride for hours. The film portrays a mystical connection between him and the horse where Bergo finds Aragorn almost dead by the river. Bergo helps Aragorn up to save Middle Earth.


Another very mystical Horse that helps a Knight is Pegasus in Clash of the Titans and I'm talking about the more resent film where Pegasus is played by a black Friesian. Although the traditional Pegasus is in the original movie they hid the real horse and by putting a deco fake horse at such a distance there was never really a real horse there. This massive, breathtaking ( and yes he took my breath away) horse stole the movie for me. Even if Sam Worthington didn't get along with the horse they seem to have great chemistry on film. If we are talking about Pegasus we have to talk about Unicorns and there is one knight that used a unicorn into battle. Peter and the Unicorn from The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe charged into battle un tacked. Ice is the young Andalusian named that played the unicorn and Peter played by William Moseley trained hard to ride with no saddle and bridle. With time he pulled it off and Ice helped him along.


King Arthur and Lancelot are some names that pop into our head when we think about Knights and their horses, and there have been some fantastic films when it comes to that concept. First Knight staring Richard Gere and Sean Connery is a film that show a close bond between horse and rider. Richard rides a very thin almost Andalusian looking black horse. At one point in the film he whistles to him and he comes running from out of the woods. I love this film because it also portrays Arthur's love for horses, which is something I have always thought about him and how he admires his horses. King Arthur the film from 2004 staring Clive Owen as King Arthur, show some incredible riding from this round table of actors, and not one of them have ridden before. This is some of the most talented riding I have seen from any actor in a film. Clive rides a very high strung white horse that I feel gave a little character to King Arthur and his horse.

Alexander the Great has the most powerful horse of all time, the most legendry horse of all time. A horse that some say protected him till his death in battle. The great Bucephalus. Giant, black beast that only Alexander could ride. Alexander notice the horse was scared of his own shadow and in return consumed the horses trust. Colin Farrel plays Alexander and who I have proclaimed the best rider in Hollywood, because a majority of the battle sequence he is riding bareback with a sword and shield, amazing! Bucephalus is played by a powerful black friesian and what some say is an actual scene this horse really rears up in front of a giant elephant how is also rear up facing him.

Knights love their horses they are their way of conquering titles and fights. A good horses means everything. In Gladiator Maximus, he gets them taken away from him when taken in to the arena but he expresses his love for them and how he got them branded into his chest plate. In the beginning of the film he goes into battle with a gorgeous horse Brown horse, dripping with armour.


My favorite barbaric knight has to be William Wallace, who shows us his untamed equestrian talent riding into battle on his bay horse. Although he uses a couple different horses he is the bravest. All these knights are brave and their horses trust them with their life, and this is what make for such powerful bond and epic battle scene.

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