Horsin' Around

Cari Swanson led her blanketed horse across the barnyard toward the exercise ring on her 63-acre Windrock Farm. Behind her gamboled a pack of exuberant Icelandic sheepdogs, two kid goats, a small group of human visitors and, more sedately, an aged white donkey called Webster.

In a nearby pen two mammoth hogs, Bonnie and Clyde, did their best to join the cavalcade, moving to the side of enclosure closest to the ring and grunting their desire to be part of the party.

They were all about to be treated to an exhibition of Swanson’s training skills and the tricks she taught her magnificent white Andalusian stallion, Listo, who starred as the “angel horse” in the 2014 Colin Farrell/Russell Crowe fantasy film, A Winter’s Tale.

Using a six-foot-long whip which rarely touched the animal’s back—and then only with the lightest flick—she directed the stallion to follow her around the ring, to back up, bow, throw a kiss and more without ever touching the animal. As a result of her so-called “liberty” training, with no restraints on the animal, she is able to guide her horses in scenes on movie sets or in commercial settings. “These are horses on remote control,” she says.

She bases her work on classical training with the horse’s well-being and joyful attitude the most important criteria. The horses’ thorough training is important because often actors have only the most rudimentary knowledge of riding. She has offered thespians such as Farrell, Crowe and Ethan Hawke crash courses in the art as they prepare for their roles but the biggest trick, she says, is for the actor to look relaxed and confident on the animal’s back while the trainer guides the horse’s movements.

“A horse must seem to be responding to the dialogue of the actor and the action on the screen,” she said.

Listo is a pro and has appeared in many capacities in his performance career. That career took an elegant turn six years ago when his athletic image was projected in the windows of Ralph Lauren’s flagship store on Madison Avenue, jumping, rearing and striding majestically. But Listo is just one of a repertory company of equine actors who, between appearances in television, print advertisements and films, spend their time relaxing on the farm.

Among their numbers: Bond, the dark horse ridden by Crowe in his role as a supernatural demon in A Winter’s Tale; RJ, one of six paint horses used in Hildago and a young Knabstrupper stallion, who stands in for an appaloosa in an Elle/Lexus advertisement.

Swanson-trained horses have appeared in any number of movies and television series including Taking Woodstock, The Magnificent Seven, the Cinemax series The Knick and the upcoming HBO original, The White House Plumbers, set for release in March.

She has supplied animals for videos with Beyonce and Shatta Wale and one of her star pupils, a palomino stallion called Moose, even took a whimsical turn in the pop band, Real Estate’s, official video for Darling. The unfazed stallion upstaged the group by taking a turn on the keyboard, licking the cymbals on the drum set and weaving through the instruments as the group performed.

Cari Swanson’s experience with horses is deep and her ability to coax them into unlikely situations uncanny. She relates that she grew up on a horse farm in Ohio and early felt her special bond with the creatures. “I just always understood them,” she said. “I always really connected to horses and could always train the difficult ones.”

Rather than being a “horse whisperer,” she classifies herself as a “horse listener.” “I am very connected to energy,” she said, “I think that is why I have a gift with horses. You have to be patient; you have to listen to the horse.”

So connected was she with her equine companions, she took her horse with her to Miami University where she studied international business and political science. While studying in Europe during her junior year, she fell in love with German dressage going on to be a silver medalist in U.S. Dressage Federation competition as well as competing with the Fédération Equestre Internationale.

She continued her studies in French art and literature at the Sorbonne before moving on to London and New York City where she pursued a career in publishing.

“I didn’t believe I could make a living in horses,” she confessed, but life was about to intervene. One of her first friends in New York was celebrity photographer Ken Regan who photographed the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and, not least importantly, Secretariat, still regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. He encouraged her to pursue a career in providing horses for print and video venues as well as television and movies.

Her move from the city to Dutchess County occurred when her mother shipped her horse east. Swanson found a place to stable it in Dutchess County and it was not long before she followed her horse’s lead and moved to the country developing her new career and lifestyle in the rolling hills of Amenia.

She believes horses are attractive to marketers because viewers connect with them. But the work can be dangerous—especially taking horses into city environments where they are surrounded by strange sights and noises. She favors working with stallions which can be unpredictable and mares rather than with geldings whose demeanor she finds to be “flat.”

“Horses can be startled by unexpected things but there is almost always a signal before they react,” she said of the possible risk of having them in urban settings.

Even so, she will refuse a job if the situation seems too risky. Frequently, artistic directors who conceive the shoots are not familiar with horses and do not provide safe environments. “Each one has problems you have to unravel,” she said, recalling that she once was hired to provide a paint pony as a highlight for a western-themed party.

When she arrived, she found the party was in a glass room. The decorators had strewn a thick layer of hay, with no rubber mat under it, over a polished cement floor. With music, dancing and people moving around the room, Swanson deemed it too slippery and too dangerous for Lily, her horse. “I wouldn’t do it,” she said, eventually compromising by leading Lily up and down the sidewalk outside the windows. “My first concern is to protect the horse.”

Lido’s performance for the Ralph Lauren windows was another challenge, requiring Lido to perform on “the tiniest stage.”

“That one I was so proud of,” she said. “The stage was maybe three strides across. It was super hard because he had to run, rear, and jump across a hole that was maybe one foot wide but we had to make it look like five feet.” With the aid of a specialized camera to catch every detail in slow motion, a feeling of “power, spirit and strength” was captured and projected in mesmerizing sequences over eight windows.

“It was so powerful, it calmed your heart rate,” she said.

Indeed, Swanson said horses, whose heartbeats are only half as frequent as humans, have an immediate calming effect when she uses them for equine therapy for military persons with PTSD and others “living in a world of crisis.”

“We’ve had a lot of success,” she reported. “We’ve dealt with people dealing with grief, the loss of a child, and lots of kids from the city dealing with horrible anxiety. I’ve seen children transformed through this therapy.”

In addition to helping humans through equine therapy, she assists horses in distress. In 2004 she established the Red Horse Rescue, Rehab and Retirement Foundation. “We established a 501(c) 3 and take in horses that can no longer be cared for such as owner surrenders, horses from abusive situations, horses from the racetrack and horses with bad behaviors that are misunderstood and give them a second chance,” she said.

Rehabilitated horses able to go back to work are rehomed. Those too aged or too damaged live out their days on her farm. As of last week, she reported she had “50 heartbeats” on her farm, including all the living creatures under her care. Thirteen of the heartbeats were horses’, seven of whom were rescues (including Webster, the ancient white donkey.)

“That is our mission. We love them, listen to them, and help them find new purposes,” she says on her website But, she notes, donations are always needed to carry on the work. On June 11 at 11AM she will hold a Strut Your Mutt Dog Show at her farm at 724 Bangall Amenia Road, Amenia, to raise funds for the rehab program.

Open to all, there will be classes in agility, obedience, best trick, best tail wag, best veteran, best costume, best in show, puppy class, best junior handler and more. There will also be a silent auction, raffle and bake sale.