JACKIE CHAN IS BACK IN THE SADDLE

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Before performing the action scenes in his latest film, Jackie Chan had nine cortisone shots. The world’s most famous movie stuntman and martial artist has made more than 150 pictures and has just turned 70 – inevitably he’s not quite as nimble as he once was.

Ride On – written and directed by Larry Lang and released last year – is a throwback to a bygone era of action/comedy filmmaking and here the Chinese actor’s co-star is a horse named ‘Red Hare’.

The film poster for 'Ride On' (2023).

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Lui (Jackie Chan) is a washed-up, ageing stuntman estranged from his daughter and in debt to gangsters. Long removed from the movie industry, he lives a rather grim existence working odd jobs, performing on the streets with stunt horse Red Hare, who he treats like a son, and selling rides to indifferent tourists. Years before he had saved the chestnut from being euthanised at birth because of a slight deformity.

TRIVIA:

Red Hare was a famous horse of the warlord Lü Bu in the Three Kingdoms era (222-280 AD).

The relationship between man and beast is the highlight of this movie. Its opening, which features the horse dragging Lui out of bed by the back of his collar and standing him up, is one of many slapstick scenes throughout the two-hour running time.

“Where the sentiment really comes in is with the relationship between Lui and Red Hare,” Asian Movie Pulse noted in its review. “They say you should never work with children and animals, but this is actually one of the sincerest relationships that Jackie Chan has had on screen. There is more emotional depth and chemistry here than he has had with most of his female co-stars over the years.”

The San Francisco Chronicle said: “A fine film about a man, his daughter and the horse they both love – and of passion for how action movies used to be made.”

The horse was a retired galloper named ‘Chitu’ from Macau and several others were used as doubles and stand-ins. All were trained by a professional horseman, although the picture’s closing credits failed to acknowledge him.

Lui (Jackie Chan) is a washed-up, ageing stuntman with a horse named Red Hare (a retired galloper named Chitu). Image supplied.

One of Chan’s main aims in Ride On was to honour martial arts stunt performers – those who had risked their lives delivering breathtaking action scenes for years but then were seriously affected by CGI and sophisticated special effects resulting in insurmountable challenges and hardship.

Computer generated images (CGI) were used in some of the more precarious scenes, and for some sequences Chan rode a dummy horse, as revealed in a series of bloopers and outtakes at the end of the film. There also tended to be an inconsistency regarding Red Hare’s star, which would change size and shape during long shots when using one of the stand-ins.

Overall, the horse work is very good and there’s no doubt Chan established an excellent rapport with the Thoroughbred both on and off the set. “I’d feed him every morning,” said Chan who, in 2008, appeared in horseback in a video promoting Hong Kong as the co-host city for the Olympic equestrian events.

In 2008, Jackie Chan appeared on horseback in a video promoting Hong Kong as the co-host city for the Olympic equestrian events.

TRIVIA:

“To this day, every time I get on a horse, I make sure that the horse and my riding equipment are all fine, just as pilots have to double-check all their equipment before taking off.”

– Jackie Chan in his autobiography ‘Never Grow Up’.

He and the rest of the cast were in tears when the feature wrapped and Chitu was taken away to the Heilen Equestrian Club in Xingiao. Hopefully, he is enjoying his retirement, something Chan will not be doing any time soon. Several more pictures are in the pipeline and Legend, a fantasy adventure he made recently, will be released at the end of the year.

Ride On can be viewed on numerous streaming services and is presently free on SBS.

FROM SHOWGROUND TO FASHION SHOOT

Traditionally horse trucks are driven to competitions, training days, veterinary clinics and petrol stations. They contain excessive amounts of equine paraphernalia, hay in nets, bits of baling twine and, of course, horses.

Kathy Ward’s is different. When it’s not at a show it’s at a fashion shoot having transformed into an immaculate wardrobe and makeup truck.

When Kathy Ward’s horse truck is not at a show, it’s at a fashion shoot! Image supplied.

Kathy’s company, Chic Management, represents all the main models around the world and she regularly takes her vehicle on location. Inside the spacious truck, stylists, hairdressers and talent prepare for photographers.

“I take out all the partitions and on the floor is some marine carpet. George Sanna cut it up and it can be removed when necessary,” explained Kathy referring to her partner, the international show jumping competitor. “He’s presently away with Amber Fuller and Amelia Douglass, who are campaigning their horses overseas.”

Clothes are laid out, with a steamer for the wardrobe people, and there is enough room for a mountain of accessories, piles of cosmetics and, of course, the models, who are rarely fazed being in a converted horse truck.

“But many of the general public are curious, especially when we’re parked at a beach. They ask whether a horse is inside and can they have a look.”

Kathy’s daughter, Jessie O’Connell, was the reason she has a truck. “It was bought for her when she was show jumping at quite a high level. Before going to university she had three horses, Cassis Z Ten Halven (‘Cassis’), Carl Aus Pausin (‘Carl’) and Eye Catcher (‘Wendy’). I took over a couple of them and kept the truck.”

The general public are curious, especially when the truck is parked at a beach! Image supplied.

She keeps it near to her office in Woollahra, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, and rides at Centennial Park where she also oversees photo shoots.

Anya Taylor-Joy, who will shortly be seen starring in George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, had been at the park modelling for the front cover of Harper’s Bazaar. She had been photographed aboard a warmblood dressage horse, Arnage Royal Edition (‘Eddie’), supplied by Penelope Cobbold, an estate agent who also provides horses for film shoots under the banner Horses & Houses. Penelope has been associated with horses for decades having bred champion ponies, worked as a polo groom for Kerry Packer, trained horses for his widow, Roz, and owned some successful FEI warmbloods such as Eddie, formerly ridden by her daughter, Martha.

Anya Taylor-Joy photographed aboard Arnage Royal Edition, aka Eddie. Image supplied.

Kathy, who was about to leave for a shoot, told Equestrian Life it was to be a 14-hour stint with 20 models for Fashion Week – and she was doing the cooking for all the crew. Shortly afterwards she may get some time off. “I’m hoping to meet up with George,” she said, “and watch the Nations Cup in Rome.”

Next time in Horses and Movies, two very different films featuring cowboys and queens! EQ

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