I was saddened to hear that actor Robert Duvall died over the weekend at the age of 95, after earning fame for roles in such beloved movies as “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Godfather,” “Tender Mercies” and “The Great Santini.”
But his favorite, as he told me when I interviewed him at the Hampton Classic in 2009, was playing the part of Augustus McRae in the TV mini-series “Lonesome Dove.”
Robert Duvall at the Hampton Classic (Photo © 2009 by Nancy Jaffer)
The actor wasn’t thrilled when I asked for an interview, but after learning I was involved with horses, he was happy to talk and we had a great chat. It was a special opportunity I will never forget.
Although he learned to ride on his uncle’s ranch in Montana, he preferred an English saddle to cowboy tack.
“A western saddle is a working saddle,” he explained, saying he finds the English version more comfortable. When we talked, he was 78 years old and still riding, as long as he was aboard “a bomb-proof horse.” At the time, he owned a quarter horse, an old thoroughbred and an Andalusian/Arab/thoroughbred 4-year-old that wasn’t an ideal mount for his stage in life.
“He’s a little iffy,” explained the actor, who was bucked off during the filming of “Lonesome Dove” and wasn’t ready for a re-run of that incident. For his 2006 TV movie, “Broken Trail,” he prepared by practicing riding a year in advance. He borrowed his mount, Wrangler, from Canadian rodeo champion Tom Bews.
“He’s the best horse I’ve ever been on in my life; he was just so well schooled,” said Duvall, who knows how to appreciate such things.
He then launched into a story about how he got into riding shape for another movie at a farm owned by former show jumping star, horse dealer and trainer Rodney Jenkins.
“What does a horse like this cost?” the actor asked Rodney after a successful ride. The answer was $30,000.
The actor mused (probably correctly), ” I think he was hustling me to buy that horse.”
Questioned about the show jumpers he admired most, he mentioned Ben O’Meara, remembering a photo he’d seen of him jumping a horse over a table where three men were seated drinking beer. O’Meara died in a 1966 plane crash, but Duvall observes a similar style in Olympic team gold medalist McLain Ward. Duvall said his favorite rider was Aaron Vale, maintaining “he’s got a lot of feel” on a horse.”
Years later Aaron went on to become part of the U.S. team, so it’s obvious Duvall knew what he was talking about when he assessed talent.
Of the top riders, he said, “What they do is amazing. They’re tremendously talented and the horses are like freaks.”
Although he played a show jumper in a movie, “Something to Talk About,” he had no illusions about his skill in the sport.
“I’ve competed only in local level mini-prixs,” said Duvall, who had a farm in Virginia and said Upperville was his local horse show.
“You have to spend your life doing this, you have to commit to it at this level. This is just not something you do as a hobby.”
I can imagine him sharing stories with Ben O’Meara and Rodney in heaven before saddling up and enjoying a long ride. Like them, he was one of a kind.