The Thousands

The US television series Touched By An Angel may have melodramatised, even made a farce of, the possibility of angels on earth, but after watching Buck, the Sundance-winning documentary about American real-life cowboy Buck Brannaman, and speaking to Buck on the phone yesterday, I’ve had this kind of heightened, spiritual awareness: that there really are extraordinary, magical people who walk the earth, and Buck is one of them.

Directed by Cindy Meehl, Buck (screening at Perth Festival) reflects on Brannaman’s transformation from an abused, affection-starved child to a generous, game-changing horse trainer. In between the horse lessons there are plenty of ones on life, stemming from the insightful parallels Brannaman draws between man and beast. “I’ve always wanted to do the right thing by a horse, that’s never changed. It’s just that as my knowledge grew, I’ve been able to offer the horse a better human being.”

Danielle Marsland: How did the documentary about yourself come about, Buck? Did you know the director Cindy Meehl prior to filming?
Buck Brannaman: Yeah, Cindy came to a clinic of mine back in 2003. A few years later she rode with me at a friend’s ranch in Montana called McGuinness Meadows, we were having lunch and she said to me “Buck, I’ve had something really bothering me. I want to tell people a story about you, so that they can experience what we experience in your clinics, even if they don’t have horses.” Nine times out of ten I would have said “forget it man, no chance”. But she must have caught me at the right time I guess, I took a risk and said “go ahead”. Frankly, in the beginning I thought to myself, ‘it’s just a documentary at best. All they’re gonna do is probably show it on PBS a couple of times’. Then it turned out to be this unbelievable success in cinemas. It turned out to be a good risk!

DM: Buck won the Audience Award at Sundance, which is probably the best accolade there is – to have the admiration of everyday people. Did you go to Sundance?
BB: I went last year, it was a nice way to start the deal. I went to a ton of screenings, too – there was a little stretch in June/July – I was probably in about 25 different screenings in 20 days. I told Cindy if she did the best she could to show me respect and honour with what I’ve done with my life, I’d help her as much as I could in promoting the story.
DM: That sounds like a fair deal!
BB: I’m just enjoying the moment – heck! a month from now, we could be up there getting an Academy Award. This kind of thing doesn’t happen to a person every day, usually.

DM: You must have met a lot of real interesting people during your travels…
BB: It’s crazy how many people I have met, whether it be through the clinics or through this documentary. Some of the places it’s taken me is just…I can’t believe it. Just because I’m a guy who happens to know a little bit about horses. For instance, I’ve always wanted to meet Olivia Newton-John – well damned if I didn’t meet her this morning! I went on a talk show The Circle, that was really cool, you know, me and my daughter we’ve watched that Grease film, I don’t know how many times! So look at it, just because I know a li’l bit about horses, I got to meet her – it was cool.

DM: What was it like being followed around by a camera crew, did it ever get frustrating?
BB: No, it didn’t – I told Cindy the ground rules I wanted her to play, I told her “when I’m doing a clinic, you have to understand one thing, you’re going to have to move your cameras around to catch me in the process of doing my clinic, I’m not going to stage anything or set it up or reposition myself while I’m doing something with a person or a horse. Because I’m not going to sell my students short, ever: these people that go to my clinics are going to be with me long after all the movie excitement is gone”. So she had a big challenge to shoot it like she was a ghost.

DM: How many horses do you keep at your home ranch? Do you have a favourite?
BB: We have about thirty horses at home, I take them on the road with me – I use my own horses to demonstrate in the clinics, I always haul three or four with me on the road at any one time. Then I’ll go back to the ranch and trade them out for some others, give them a rest. One of the luxuries of where I am right now is that I can own my own horses and ride them, I really know that is a privelege. I love them all the same, they’re all my children, you can’t choose between your children.

DM: Can you pinpoint the exact moment in your past when your attitude to cowboying, and training horses, changed from the more traditional, forceful way of dealing with horses to the sensitive way you deal with horses today?
BB: It was more of a general growth – you slowly change how you go about things, trading things that don’t work for better things – it would be like watching grass grow, it’s a life of devotion to this. I’ve always wanted to do the right thing by a horse, that’s never changed, its just that as my knowledge grew I’ve been able to offer the horse a better human being, as time has gone on.

DM: Do you think there is something magic about your ability to understand horses, something other people don’t have? Or just hard work and practice – anyone could do it if they devoted themselves to your methods enough?
BB: Maybe there is some natural ability, that I don’t know, But what I’ve always banked on is that you can accomplish amazing things with this if you have a passion and you work hard – I just think it’s a cop out to say “I wasn’t born with this, so it’s OK if I fail”. You can make up the difference with hard work and devotion.
DM: Do you think being around horses is good for the soul?
BB: There’s no question. Being around horses has preserved my soul.

DM: Throughout the documentary, you draw a lot of insightful comparisons between raising a child, and raising a horse. You have a beautiful daughter, who also works with horses. Was it really important to you, given your own unhappy childhood, that you were the best parent you could be?
BB: Yeah, it really was. I said to myself, “You know that if you are not careful, you could crawl up the same path your father did, even though you know its wrong”. But I think even if you haven’t been taught right from wrong, you know it. There is a point where you can’t continue to blame things on your parents. It’s about taking responsibility and owning it. That is a big lesson that I hoped people would get from this documentary – I think they did.

DM: You had some experience working in film before, as an advisor on the Robert Redford directed film The Horse Whisperer. How did that come about?
BB: It started when I met the author of the book, Nick Evans, he spent some time with me when he was researching the character of Thom Bucker. After spending time around me, that’s how the character of Thom came to be. Once Evans sold the film rights to Disney, he encouraged Redford to look me up for advice, in terms of making the scenes authentic. That was when the relationship with Bob Redford started, we’ve been friends ever since.

DM: Do you think The Horse Whisperer tells an honest story?
BB: You know, a person has to be realistic about this – we’re talking about a movie that was about a fictional novel. As far as it being as authentic as an instructional video series from Buck would be (laughs) well, no. But Bob wasn’t on my payroll, I was on his. We were telling a love story and it just so happened the main character did what I did for a living.

DM: Have you ever watched a film about horses, or read a book about horses, that you really thought was excellent?
BB: Umm, Buck? (laughs) The best book is probably All The Pretty Horses. The movie version was okay, but I really did like the book.

DM: Horses and horse teaching takes up so much of your time – what do you enjoy when you’re not riding horses, do you have other hobbies?
BB: You know I’m a little bit like the postman taking a walk on his day off. I just did a couple days fly fishing in New Zealand. I’ve just taken up golf, now I’m one of those guys who chases around a little white ball and hits it. I really enjoy it, although it seemed so ridiculous to me for so long.

DM: Many people are saying, after watching the documentary, and seeing the way you’ve carved out an extraordinary life for yourself despite tremendous odds, well, they’re saying you’re hero material. Do you consider yourself an American hero?
BB: Oh I don’t know about that. I guess that would seem awkward for me to suggest such a thing. I’m flattered and honoured to be appreciated. I’ve tried to work hard and do the right thing – don’t know always done that – but I’ve tried.

DM: If there’s one message you would like people to take from your story, from the documentary Buck, what would that be?
BB: It’s funny you asked – I’ve been waiting for someone to ask me that all day long. Maybe of all the millions of people who have seen this, if they left the theatre and said ‘I don’t care if Im like Buck Brannigan, but I’d sure like to be like [Buck’s foster mother] Betsy Shirley, then it would be all worth it.”

DM: Thank you for talking today, thanks for being you. Your film has made me want to be a more gentle and patient person, I have taken so much from it.
BB: You’re very welcome, ma’am.