FEATURE
HOLLYWOOD HORSES From Wonder Woman to Game of Thrones, the Naprous family works with the equine stars of big-name television shows and movies to create the magic you see onscreen. By ANN GLAVAN
36 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
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single horse and rider gallop headlong toward enemy lines. In slow motion, you appreciate the bounding stride of the horse, the rider’s expression strained in a battle cry. Or perhaps it’s a carriage chase, steel shoes clattering on a sodden cobbled street late at night, a villain in pursuit and rapidly gaining ground. Or is it a quiet moment, a boy and his horse in the early morning light, sun streaming through the stall slats, catching dust and glinting off a shiny rump, as the boy pulls the horse’s head to his chest? These are the moments horse lovers remember from movies—the drama, the action and the heart—and they’re all brought to life by the Naprous family. For more than 30 years, Gerard Naprous and his children Dan and Camilla have owned and operated The Devil’s Horsemen, a stable in Buckinghamshire, England, that provides horses and stunt teams and teaches actors to ride. Two generations of horsemen have bred, bought and trained the horses that have played alongside some of the biggest stars in the business—with some becoming stars themselves in the process. Gerard worked on a film adaptation of Anna Sewell’s classic book Black Beauty. Dan helped bring Joey, the bay colt who charged fearlessly into battle in War Horse, to life. Camilla currently works as horsemaster at the hit HBO drama Game of Thrones. And it all started with a carthorse in the French countryside.
