#MERIDA BRAVE ON HORSE FULL#

The mane is cut short so it will stand erect. The center hair of the mane is usually black while the outer hair is white. All Fjord horses possess dun coloring.Īnother unique characteristic of the Fjord Horse is the mane. As its name suggests, this breed originated in Norway and was domesticated more than 4,000 years ago. The Norwegian Fjord horse is one of the world's oldest and purest breeds. These horses are registered with the Belgian Draft Horse Corporation of America (established in 1887), which currently has more registered horses than other draft breed registry.Īlthough he played a minor role in the incredibly popular film Frozen, Sitron has helped his breed, the Norwegian Fjord, gain popularity with a new audience. Belgians can also come in lighter shades and are known as blonde sorrels. The predominant color is sorrel or chestnut, as seen by the animation of Phillipe. They have a very slow motion with minimal knee action. In addition, their very docile nature makes Belgians ideal for pulling contests. Belgians have long been loved by farmers as work animals.

Phillipe is a Belgian, a very popular breed of draft horse. Phillipe is Belle’s horse in The Beauty and the Beast. The truth is, it’s not all fairy tales and fiction – some of the most beloved equine companions are horse breeds that truly exist! This brief Michigan State University Extension tour through Disney horses introduces the real horses these famous drawings were based on. And when I'm on stage, with the horses, whatever's happened in the day in my personal life, it dissolves on the stage.Whether you actually are a kid or just a kid at heart, animated feature films captivate their audiences with fairy tale worlds where anything is possible. 'You're performing in front of some 2,000 people. Her deep relationship with the horses helps her get through her worst days. He has red hair, blue eyes, just like me,' she says.Įven after five years performing with Cavalia, Ferguson never finds her routine of having to repeatedly do the same things every night boring. 'Henry and I have been together for four years and he's one of the fastest horses here. She auditioned for Cavalia and joined the troupe at the end of 2009 as a stunt rider.Īs riders do not share horses in Cavalia, Ferguson gets to keep three horses and one of them is a 14-year-old American Paint horse, called Henry. 'I was told I wouldn't be able to walk, and I was also told about losing the vision in my left eye.'Īfter months of rehabilitation, she fully recovered and a year after the incident she started to ride again, working as a rider at a horse-riding show where she carried flags and rode. She underwent 13 surgical operations and now has a totally different nose. She broke 46 bones, including 23 in her face, eight ribs, both arms and both legs. Instead of completing the jump, I ended up just falling down the cliff,' she said. 'I hesitated a little bit and lost the footing beneath me. However, she never dreamed of being a stunt rider and studied marine biology at university to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a trainer at Sea World.īut in 2003, she had to struggle for her life after she fell 21 meters down a cliff she had climbed to jump into the water below. Her stage personality inspired the creation of Princess Merida in the animated film Brave after the crew of Pixar watched the show in San Jose a few years ago.īorn in South Carolina, 30-year-old Ferguson was raised on a farm and has ridden horses since she was very young. In the stage, Ferguson looks shining and strong with her smile and cheerful shouts while doing tricks on her horses. 'It's a lot of multitasking as I watch the front team, the middle team, and I also watch each horse individually, commanding them to slow down, to speed up, to turn, and so on,' Ferguson said, adding that it took about six months of training for the horses to perform the act. It may sound difficult, but Ferguson said she did not require any special technique to do it and it was just a matter of multitasking and practice. So I'm steering the four in front while standing on my two for two laps and then we exit,' she says. 'I start on two, and when everybody thinks the act is over, we add two horses and then two more.

#MERIDA BRAVE ON HORSE FULL#

Her daredevil acts leave the audience gasping as the horses gallop at full speed and jump over the waist-high obstacles. Titian-haired stunt rider Fairland Ferguson takes the spotlight when she cheerfully leads a team of six horses in the Roman riding scene of Cavalia.

Daredevil act: Fairland Ferguson's acts inspire the creation of Princess Merida in the animated film Brave.

Merida brave on horse