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‘Flying horses’: spectacular drone video captures moment of flight

Eleanor Jones Eleanor Jones

    • A rider who “flew” with her young mare on a deserted beach in a special moment caught on film said she is planning something even more “spectacular” by the summer.

    Debbie Wright and Rebel Mountain Mare (Debs and Rebs) were filmed by a drone on the Isle of Man last Sunday (23 January), and the video, filmed and edited by Andy Orton and Will Oates of Dot Performance, and “beautifully organised by Stephanie Bee and Robin Higgins from Hive” has been released.

    Debbie told H&H Stephanie and Robin had been looking for a rider to feature in the video, “but I don’t think many people wanted to do it because it was quite a big and noisy drone”.

    “I thought I’ll give it a go,” Debbie said. “On my five and a half-year-old horse!”

    Debbie and Rebs are well used to beach riding; Rebs lives a 10-minute ride away from Smeale Beach in the north of the Isle of Man, and Debbie said the way she had been “so beautifully backed and produced”, by Patrick “Packy” Meyler in Ireland, set her up well to cope with the drone.

    “She’s been a brilliant horse from day one and she loves her beach gallops,” Debbie said.

    “I didn’t know how she would react, and when the drone started up, she felt like she grew three inches, and did three poos, and then just went. But by the end — we did four runs — she was looking for the drone and wanting to run with it. It was absolutely amazing, and she was loving it. Perhaps that’s going to be her forte; being a film horse.”

    Debbie said Rebs did not put a foot wrong all day, including in the arms-out “flying” sequences.

    “My friend Jean Young and I are always acting like kids; we’re always on the beach or the beautiful tracks in the sand dunes and doing things like that, I’ll say ‘Come on Jean, let’s go flying’!” Debbie said. “Then suddenly, someone captures it on film, and you think ‘Wow’. And it really does feel like you’re flying, but you have to have a horse you really trust.”

    Debbie said the plan is for she and Rebs to meet the drone pilots again, once a month, to get more footage.

    “The plan is to do something spectacular by the summer,” she said.

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    Eleanor Jones
    Eleanor Jones

    H&H news editor
    Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
    Eleanor Jones

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