Still, “Quigley” is a good movie, and I watched it to the very end. Still insomniated, I decided to check out Quigley and his super horse.
Whoa!
What I found on the internet made my . . .night. According to published reports (I hope we can believe them) Tom hung out with the wranglers on the set of Quigley, because he thinks of himself as more of a cowboy than actor. And, while making Quigley, he fell in love with that horse. It was reported the horse was a quarter horse-cross, and stood 16 hands. Its name was Spike. It was brought in for Selleck because he, at 6 feet 4 inches tall, looked like he was riding a pony on all the other horses on set.
Consequently Tom fell in love with Spike. He begged to buy him. Owning wrangler said, “No.” But at the end of the movie, the wranglers liked Tom so much they presented him with Spike as a gift. Tom spent $7,000 to fly Spike back to his new home on Tom’s California ranch, where Spike was ultimately retired at the age of 22. I found no report on Spike’s demise, but considering that was over 20 years ago, it is probable that Spike has gone on to that great pasture in the sky.
I knew I loved Tom Selleck for some reason, that being he is a true horseman and cowboy, and isn’t bad on the eyes either. And real life is so much more interesting that fictional movies.
There are other such stories, believe it or not. Johnny Depp was reported to have saved his mount, Goldeneye, from the movie “Sleepy Hollow,” when he found out the gelding was on the way to the killers. Some question that fate, and argue that any horse good enough to be in a movie or known to have been ridden by a movie star, would most certainly not be considered as equine bacon.
As a horseman, my respect for Selleck and Depp is considerably enhanced by their compassion for their co-stars, Spike and Goldeneye. I much prefer a guy who loves his horse. And don’t mind at all staying up all night just to watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment