The Equestrian - A Film by Sybil Mair

Sybil Mair, the director of this dark psychological drama talks with me about her inspiration and the making of this beautiful film. The lead is played by young British actor, Layke Anderson, who plays talented dressage rider, Freddie Forester and James Wilby (Maurice, Gosford Park), who stars as his father. The U.K.’s very own Olympic gold-medallist Carl Hester MBE also makes a cameo appearance. Says Carl: “After the success at London 2012, I think it’s fantastic that a film has been made about our sport. It deserves the recognition.”

The Equestrian tells the story of the relationship between Freddie and his black stallion, Gaius, who look set to take the dressage world by storm. However, when pride and vanity get in the way, things take a turn for the worse, and what was once a close partnership based on trust looks irreparable. The film follows horse and rider’s emotional journey together as they work hard to get back on track. The team behind The Equestrian includes twice Oscar-nominated cinematographer, Tony Pierce Roberts and twice BAFTA-nominated editor Jon Gregory, as well as dressage composer Tom Hunt, who has worked with top riders such as Michael Eilberg, and Olympic gold-medallists Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester.

Award-winning director Sybil H. Mair came up with the idea for the film after watching her instructor training for a dressage competition. Believing that dressage is the ideal sport to portray the intimate relationship between horse and rider, she says: “I was going to adapt a short story about horse racing, but then I noticed something much more interesting and subtle was going on in a horse and rider dressage combination.”