THE HORSES IN ‘PEAKY BLINDERS’

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Horses are a common feature in the British television series Peaky Blinders. For actor Cillian Murphy, learning to ride bareback was a little more challenging than he anticipated – however with the help of his 12-year-old tutor, he was a convincing horseman on screen.

Ozzy Osbourne, aka ‘The Prince of Darkness’, has been infamous for snorting lines of ants, doing nasty things to birds and hurling TVs out of hotel windows. That is all in the past – the former lead singer of heavy metal band Black Sabbath is today hard of hearing, has a bad back, and is suffering from a form of Parkinson’s disease.

Ozzie, however, is still in touch with the entertainment business and recently served as inspiration to many of the actors in Peaky Blinders, the British television series that screened for seven seasons from 2013 to 2022.

Cillian Murphy plays Thomas Shelby in the series. Image supplied.

“Every actor says they
can ride confidently!”

Click here to view the RB Sellars Equestrian range…

This period crime drama, created by Steven Knight, is set in Birmingham, England’s second largest city. It follows the exploits of a gang in the direct aftermath of the First World War, loosely based on a real urban gang known as the Peaky Blinders who were active in the West Midlands. (Many of these men suffered PTSD having experienced the horrors of the war but this was a condition that wasn’t medically recognised until the 1980s).

Before filming it was vital the actors learnt the ‘Brummie’ dialect. “It’s difficult to do and many listened to Ozzie Osbourne recordings,” says Knight, who was born in the Midlands. “He has a great central Birmingham accent.”

He explains that many of the ideas for the series came from childhood interactions with the traveller community at scrap yards. (Travellers, whose origins are Irish, are similar to Romani people or gypsies who came from South Asia centuries ago). “You’d see some amazing stuff at these yards, much of which was stolen,” says Knight. “It was like glimpsing Birmingham as it was in the past and I used that a lot to try to get the feeling for Peaky Blinders.”

The traveller community in today’s Birmingham was a great help when Cillian Murphy had to learn riding. The Irish star played the leader of the gang, Thomas Shelby, who in many episodes rides a beautiful black horse. He is also seen on a white one, and there are others in the series at racetracks or harnessed to travellers’ wagons.

Cillian Murphy riding bareback in 'Peaky Blinders'. Image supplied.

TRIVIA

Because of the worldwide popularity of ‘Peaky Blinders’ there are Thoroughbreds, both flat racers and steeplechasers, named Thomas Shelby in America, England and Australia; as well as a champion racing greyhound in Western Australia.

“I took him to meet my brother who competes in horse fairs and other such things,” says Knight. “He’s very well connected with a lot of people who are quite reputable in the traveller community.” The meeting resulted in the actor learning how to ride bareback which he had to do to be authentic. “He was taught by a 12-year-old kid who was brilliant.”

Murphy revealed to Radio Times how difficult and physically demanding he found the challenge, citing it as one of the hardest parts of the role. “Every actor says they can ride confidently! I’d done it a bit before but not without something to sit in!” He found much of the process interestingly warm. “Which was nice. We were filming in winter in Liverpool and the wind can really blow there!”

In the series there are consistent references to black horses; Knight, whose father was a farrier, explains: “There’s something very ancient about the mythology of horses, especially in Britain. Among the Romani they’re still the currency and are kept, valued and traded. The family in Peaky Blinders is comprised of Irish Travellers and Romani people, so this intersection of British mythology with Romani culture is very important to building the world of the show.”

Throughout shooting the seven seasons a variety of horses, action coordinators and stunt riders were hired. The first scenes in episode one depict Thomas Shelby walking bareback through grimy post-war streets. He’s riding Quattro-D, a Friesian from The Devil’s Horsemen stables, an English company which supplies livestock, riders, tack and vehicles to the movie industry.

Quattro-D, a Friesian from The Devil’s Horsemen stables. Images supplied.

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A horse care tip was scripted in one of the episodes: “To stop them getting worms put goldfish in the horses’ water,” suggested one of the characters. Its effectiveness is uncertain – maybe stick to worming pastes and keeping the paddocks clean!

Many others came from Atkinsons Action Horses in East Yorkshire run by father and son team Mark and Ben. As well as doubling for actors, trainer Ben Atkinson also performs in live equestrian events around Europe. (You can read more about him in Equestrian Life’s September 2022 edition).

Horse trainer and stunt double Ben Atkinson. Image by EJ Lazenby.

Sam Neill was in the first two series of Peaky Blinders playing Inspector Chester Campbell, a sadistic policeman from Norther Ireland sent by Winston Churchill to “tidy things up in Birmingham”. He is occasionally seen on a horse and the veteran actor rides with confidence. He has appeared in the saddle in many feature films having been trained in the early years by Australian horse master Jim Willoughby, who has been in this country’s film business for over four decades.

“A great man who has taught me more than anyone about riding,” stated the actor. The scenes where he is galloping with a team of mounted policemen were choreographed by Jason White, a former actor and documentary maker who worked on the series as a stunt coordinator.

Filled with scores of fine actors, absorbing well-crafted plots and magnificent horses, this series can be viewed on DVD or streamed on Netflix. A feature film is in the pipeline starring many of the same actors, but it won’t be in cinemas until at least mid-2025.