AN AUSTRALIAN animal trainer was in South Africa working on the 2005 big screen movie ‘Racing Stripes’ when it became apparent no one on set was able to get the zebras to do what needed to be done.
Cue Ipswich born Ian Bostock, a true blue Aussie with a background in trick riding and training all manner of animal.
“They were having trouble finding somebody to take on the zebras,” Mr Bostock explained from his home in Mutdapilly.
“I have experience working with all sorts of animals so next minute I am on a plane and off to South Africa.”
At this point he knew very little about zebras and had never seen one in real life.                                                                                                                                                                “When they asked me to do the job a few movie people told me it was an impossible task and ‘zebras simply can’t be trained and so good luck trying’.”
He said when it came to movies you can’t say ‘we can do this but we can't do that’, you either have to do it, or find an alternative way of doing it, you don’t have a choice.
“There were a lot of scenes that required riding of zebras, so I broke a few of them in,” he said.
“And then of course there was the cart and plough pulling along with a whole lot of movie stuff that needed doing, like getting them switched on to a horse.
“Horses don’t like zebras and zebras don’t like horses, but I got them hooked up together and they were best mates in the end.
“I used the horses to my advantage because I’m familiar with them.”
Ian used the same technique to break in zebras as he did with horses.
“I think I was very fortunate to have grown up breaking in horses,” he said.
“My father broke in wild bush horses, some of them had never been in the yards before so they were almost brumbies.
“Dealing with horses like that ... you need to know what you’re doing, a lot of the little tricks and methods my father developed over the years I learned and used.”
He said the production company at first toyed with the idea of painting horses to look like zebras before deciding against it.
“[The zebras] did a really good job under trying circumstances because they are not like any other animal,” he said.
“They're very defensive and can be quite dangerous.
“When training zebras it really comes down to knowing what you can get out of them.
“You can't just try something to see if it's going to work because if it doesn't, that’s a step backward for the animal.
“Everything you do needs to be such that it gives them confidence.”
He said there were scenes needing a zebra laying down, pulling a cart and a plough, and each time a different zebra was used.
“I had four zebras and each one had a job to do,” he said.
“The zebra that pulled the plough, pulled it really well.
“It was a heavy single furrow plough, she got right into it and ploughed the ground really well, having fun at the same time.”
But zebras were a ‘one person animal’.
“They’ll accept one person and not others,” he said.
“One of them was really switched on to Laura my wife, and so I used that one more than others.
“Every time we had to call that zebra into shot or out of shot, I used Laura as the lure.”
He said the zebras needed guarding from some 250 crew members on set because they startled easily and were unable to trust or bond with more than one person.“Laura worked as [Hayden Panettiere’s] stunt double for most of the riding scenes and even when the actress rode a zebra, [Laura] prepped every scene and every shot that a zebra was in,” he said.
“That way [the zebra] knew what to do and where to go.
“When the actress mounted, she was just on for the ride, Laura did all doubling and stunt riding for her.”
Ian rode the zebras first, breaking them in so they were safe for Laura, and then she took care of the rest.
“I’d have done the role as stunt double but I don’t look anything like the actress,” he laughed.
“Laura is an amazing horse rider and has mastered a number of different styles.
“She is also very gentle and that’s what you need with zebras.
“One of the zebras I broke in wouldn’t accept anyone else.
“We worked around that by having me saddle up and then let Laura hop on.
“Then when the scene was finished, I’d slip around the side as Laura dismounted so she’d think I’d been riding her the whole time.”
‘Racing Stripes’ was filmed at Pietermaritzburg in South Africa in 2005.
The family comedy tells the story of Stripes, a baby zebra rescued by a retired horse trainer named Nolan Walsh.
Stripes grows up amongst Nolan’s daughter’s (Hayden Panettiere’s) barnyard friends.
And he is able to live his dream of racing against thoroughbreds.
The movie also features the voices of actors Frankie Muniz, Dustin Hoffman, Steve Harvey, David Spade, Snoop Dogg, Joe Pantoliano and Michael Clarke.