To celebrate the start of the wonderful CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY time of year we are offering that special gift someone you know and love needs to have in their home! By giving the timeless GIFT of a piece of HISTORY, the TREASURE of the desert; BUCEPHALUS for $49.95 (20% off – our lowest price ever!!)
plus ++ BLACK STALLION hardback book – classic edition
by adding a small $3 donation to help children learn to read.
This is only going to be available for a very short time and comes with priority shipping (2-3 days in the US). Give the ones you love a classic gift they can leave to their children or relive the days when they ran wild like a Black Stallion!!
Give the gift that helps us all – READING – with a small gift to Horse Tales Literacy Project and make a difference . Ride through Black Friday on a charging BLACK STALLION!!
Thanks for Reading and helping children learn to read!!
Chapter One Introducing….horses in film
The concept of a horse as a celebrity is easy enough to accept – because, after all, few celebrities become famous for actually doing much. But horses as actors? Isn’t their ‘acting’ all trickery and Computer Generated Imagery?
Well, one of the greatest film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg, who directed the moving film War Horse with some 280 horses, has said: ‘The horses were an extraordinary experience for me, because several members of my family ride. I was really amazed at how expressive horses are and how much they can show what they’re feeling.’ War Horse, released in 2012, tells the epic tale of how Albert, a young boy, and his beloved farm horse, Joey, are separated and undergo harrowing adventures in World War One. In the process of filming, yes, there were stunts, props, tricks and Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), but there was also great acting by the horse stars. The horse actors had make-up – and indeed their own make-up artist. But what shines through, what really impresses the audience, is the personality and inherent beauty of the horses. No amount of cinematic trickery or CGI can replace the genuine dramatic qualities of horses.
For example, horses provide a feast for the eyes. Throughout the history of cinema, audiences have fallen for the most glamorous screen stars. This is just as true for horse stars – especially the outstandingly beautiful ones with their gleaming coats of pure black or dazzling white, or the Palominos with a golden coat and flowing silver tail. Think of the well-toned bodies, with manes to die for, of horses such as Black Beauty, Gandalf’s horse Shadowfax or Roy Rogers’ Trigger. Lights! Camera! Gallop! will introduce you to all these and many more: the great stars and some lesser-known but still brilliant actors, from the beginning of film to the present time. You will learn about their film characters and their real off-screen personalities.
You’ll also find out about how some of the most awe-inspiring scenes involving horses were filmed and even how to spot some of the tricks of the trade. All the main genres of film featuring horses are covered: Westerns (great for stunts and exciting chase sequences), ‘wild horse’ movies (surviving against enormous odds), action films (even horses versus Nazis!) and comedies (horses on pianos, horses tricking humans – and a drunken horse).
A word on terminology: many of the great horse actors were stars in the days when – for example – Native Americans were routinely referred to as ‘Indians’ and frequently depicted as ‘the cowboys’ enemy.’
Here’s a great magazine article from Western Horseman about the star of The Black Stallion film, Cass Ole’. He was one fantastic black Arabian stallion who had exceptional training from Hollywood legend cowboy Corky Randall and became quite a STAR in his own right. There were amazing stunt horses and “trick horses”, quarter horse and others, to help make the impossible – possible, but that Cass Ole’, he was something else.
To honor Cass Ole’ we’ve put the Bucephalus on sale … something to bring you a little luck as you sail on the Drake towards your own adventures! We’ll be adding more articles, some that you may never have seen, and even a whole new section with magazines and Stallion history from all over the world. Check back again soon!
My friend Elizabeth McCall wrote this fascinating article about Elvis Presley and his love of horses. It’s going to be out in the next issue of “Cowboys & Indians” magazine but you can have a sneak peek – right here, right now!!
I always liked Elvis in “Blue Hawaii” something about living on an island ranch, I guess :)
Enjoy the memories and maybe we’ll all meet up sometime at the barn in Graceland!
Have a fabulous weekend and take a minute to remember our firefighters and soldiers on this hot Fourth of July holiday.
tim farley
All The King’s Horses
Few outside his innermost circle knew Elvis Presley had a heart for horses.
BY ELIZABETH KAYE MCCALL
Elvis on Rising Sun, his golden palomino, and Bear, his black Tennessee Walking Horse.Photography: Courtesy Elvis Presley Enterprises inc.
The world knew Elvis for his music, his movies, and even for his motorcycles. People close to him knew him for his love of horses. A rich part of his personal life that largely escaped public view, his equine devotion opened to the world in 2009 when the stables at Graceland opened to the public in Memphis, Tennessee.
“Actually, Elvis was a little bit afraid of horses at first because of something that happened on a movie set,” says Alene Alexander, Graceland’s stable supervisor. She’s referring to the time a horse ran away with the actor during production of Flaming Star, in which Elvis plays Pacer Burton, the son of a Kiowa mother and Texas rancher father who ends up caught between both worlds. But after buying wife Priscilla a black quarter horse named Domino, Elvis had a change of heart about riding.
“After he saw Priscilla ride, he became interested in owning a horse,” says Alexander, a former schoolteacher who has become the King’s de facto equine historian after 30 years at Graceland. Not just any horse — he had to have a golden palomino. “He would take the guys [in his entourage] and Priscilla, and they would go out and literally knock on people’s doors who had horses, looking for a golden palomino.”
It was often 3 in the morning when he took those horse-hunting trips. “Elvis couldn’t travel during the day. If he did, the world would be following him. …
movies in W I D E S C R E E N (1.85:1) They also are still in full screen (1.33:1) on the DVD, too. Like the past versions these are dubbed and subtitled in Spanish and French as well as English with Dolby surround sound.
To celebrate we are selling the widescreen version with the Bucephalus Bronzewith the new fabulous finish at the special Spring Sale price. Take a LOOK at the original movie trailer featuring the figurine.
Sit back and enjoy the movie – relive the excitement all over again!! Visit the Trading Post and see what’s new this week. There are always some new treasures just for you!
