This article first appeared in the January 2022 digital edition of Equestrian Life. To see what’s in the current issue, click here.

Brad Pitt starred in ‘Troy’.

© Allstar Picture Library Ltd. / Alamy Stock Photo

‘Troy’ – Bigger than ‘Ben Hur’!

By Suzy Jarratt

It was maligned by reviewers and mocked by scholars, yet this sword-and-sandal epic starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom – plus scores of horses – was a box office smash.

Costing $185 million, Troy (Warner Bros, 2004) took months to make in four different countries. It was criticised for misrepresenting Homer’s The Iliad and for running for more than two-and-half hours. Despite its detractors, Troy went on to make over half a billion dollars.

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, the production employed thousands of extras, hundreds of stuntmen and, most importantly, scores of horses from Malta, Madrid and Mexico. Chief wrangler was Raliegh Wilson – whose life would make an interesting documentary in itself.

Born Roland Wayne Wilson in Montana, the 68-year-old horseman was a world champion bareback bronc rider before becoming a Marlboro Man, appearing in advertisements, television productions and commercials and founding Stunt Grunts Inc, comprising a group of stunt performers dedicated to bringing scripts to life. He also opened a studio in California with a “green screen” (a facility that allows different backgrounds to be added to foreground scenes)…

Read the full article in our January 2022 magazine here.