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Horseytalk.net Special Interview
Phoebe
Meet Phoebe.
She's off to Hollywood to star in the next ‘Lone
Ranger’ film
Phoebe, the first all-white thoroughbred born in Illinois, soon will be traveling to Hollywood to be one of five horses playing the part of Silver in a remake of “The Lone Ranger.”
Phoebe and her original owner, Amber Bauman, owner of Valley View Acres horse farm, met with the media prior to making the journey west for filming of the movie.
Phoebe, a white thoroughbred, leaps over
a jump
at Valley View Acres in Woodstock.
Michael Smart~Sun-Times Media >>
Fans of “The Lone Ranger” will remember that it first aired as a radio show in 1933. It later became a television show from 1949 to 1957, starring Clayton Moore as the masked hero and Jay Silverheels as his partner, Tonto.
The movie, which is being directed by Gore Verbinski, will star Armand Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Johnny Depp as Tonto. The release date is Dec. 21, 2012.
Phoebe is now owned by Silver Bullet Productions Inc., which is owned by Walt Disney Pictures.
Valley View Acres is a breeding farm that specializes in colored thoroughbreds like Phoebe for race and sport. Bauman lives on the farm with her husband, Tyson, and their three children: Adam, 11; Alexis, 7; and Austin, 5.
Bauman said there also are farms in Tennessee, Kentucky, Oregon and Virginia that breed colored thoroughbreds.
“Phoebe was born on our farm on May 24, 2006,” Bauman said. “It’s
amazing when you hear a foal take its first breath and towel them off. Phoebe
is a part of my family. She thinks she’s human, and she knows that she’s
special.”
<< Phoebe walks with Amber Bauman, her original owner, at Valley View Acres in Woodstock. Michael Smart~Sun-Times Media
Phoebe is the daughter of a thoroughbred named Perfectly Memorable, a good jumper owned by Bauman, and Chet DT, a race horse owned by Jerry Tyler of Cadillac, Mich.
Phoebe was the first all-white thoroughbred born in Illinois.
“Jerry taught me about colored thoroughbreds,” Bauman said. “He brought Phoebe’s dad here to my farm. Jerry trained Phoebe.”
Tyler died in October, but it was through him and contacts in the Midwest thoroughbred breeders community that producers of “The Lone Ranger” first learned about Phoebe, prompting them to purchase her for the movie.
Phoebe is 5 years old, weighs 1,200 pounds and stand 15.3 hands high. A hand is equivalent to four inches. The measurement is taken from the ground to the withers, which is the ridge between the shoulder blades.
Phoebe
races by onlookers >> Michael Smart~Sun-Times
Media
“At 2 years old, Phoebe went for saddle training,” Bauman said. “At 3 years old, she went for racetrack training. She trained at Arlington Park Racetrack and Hawthorne Racecourse. The fact that she is pure white spooked the other race horses. We decided that Phoebe was too slow for the racetrack, so we turned her into a show horse. Her first and only event was at the Barrington Horse Trial.”
Bauman described Phoebe as an “eventer” who was entered in triathlon competition that includes dressage, stadium jumping, and cross country.
“Dressage is a ballet of the horse and rider together,” Bauman said. “When it comes to what Phoebe likes the best, bring on the jumping.”
Bauman said that she has taken Phoebe over jumps as high as 4 feet, 6 inches.
“She has a good extended trot,” Bauman said. “She looks like she is floating on air.”
Bauman said everyone at the farm will miss Phoebe when she leaves for Hollywood.
“It’s like sending my kid off to college,” Bauman said. “I plan on having a red barn event when the movie comes out. We will make a concrete star with her hoof prints for the barn, and we will watch the movie in Crystal Lake. Rumor has it that the film producers already are planning a sequel.”
Bauman is the event coordinator for Horse Days 2011 on Aug. 19-21 at Boone
County Fairgrounds in Belvidere. Horse Days 2011 will include the Professional
Rodeo Cowboy Association rodeo, the Ultimate Horseman’s Challenge Race,
and the largest horse pull competition in Illinois history. Sanctioned by the
Illinois Horse Pullers Association, the competition will feature horses from
throughout the Midwest and Canada.
“There’s something for everyone at Horse Days 2011,” said Brian Lamb, founder and chairman of the event. “It’s a playground for horse and dog lovers, who will be excited about both the traditional and new events we are bringing to the fairgrounds. Those who don’t know much about horses will be enthralled by our showcase of equines.”
“Phoebe would have been in the jumper class at Horse Days 2011 if she wasn’t going to Hollywood,” Bauman said. She will host a mini-event at her farm on Sunday, July 31, that will mirror some of what people will see at Horse Days 2011.