News Into the saddle with a difference
A former dairy farmer from Eastrington is making a name for himself as a trainer of stunt horses for television.
Mark Atkinson, who runs a livery service and riding school on Carr Lane, trains horses to appear in films, TV advertisements and re-enactments.
The 58-year-old horse-trainer even takes part in some of the stunts himself and provides guidance to some of the top directors and TV producers in the business.
Unbeknown to most of us, Mark's stunt horses are on our television screens on an almost daily basis.
They appear on the advert for Virgin Trains, where native American Indians on horseback gallop alongside a steam train.
They have also been in the recent television costume drama, Lilies, and are set to make their big-screen debut in the new Brideshead Revisited film.
Mark took the bold step of diversifying 15 years ago when he was still running the family dairy business.
Asselby Grange Farm - which is now called Asselby Livery Yard and Riding School - has been in the family for well over a hundred years.
But the dairy industry in the 1990s was in decline and Mark first made a move move towards the livery business and riding school, which remain a core part of his business.
Then he struck on an idea that would change his life completely after a woman who took part in military re-enactments came to him with one of her horses.
"She said she was a re-enacter and that there was a public display coming up, and asked if we wanted to take part," said Mark. "I agreed, just to make the numbers up, but before you know it, I was hiring horses out to the English Civil War Society for battles.
"We still supply to them as well as the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, the Sealed Knot Society and English Heritage. These four are our biggest clients."
As his reputation spread Mark began receiving offers from filmmakers and TV companies who wanted his horses for advertisements and television programmes.
His many commissions have included work on TV soap Emmerdale and a two-part television programme on Irish TV called Oliver Cromwell in Ireland.
In June Mark will provide the horses for and work on a television programme about the Normans.
"Sometimes I take part in the riding and I got the stunt-riding job in Lilies," said Mark. "When I see my horses on TV it's a wonderful feeling and it's very exciting to take part yourself. Filming is easily my favourite part."
The ex-farmer, who took over the running of Asselby Grange from his father Albert, has 20 stunt horses at his Carr Lane site. He has trained them to such a level that they can jump over fire and also work as jousting horses in public displays.
Mark runs the business with his wife Jill, with help from their children Lucy (17) and 14-year-old son Ben.
"Everybody's involved and the kids are very keen," said Mark. "At first it was all very new to us and the horses, so to help with the training we had to get friends from the village to improvise by banging and clattering dustbin lids and things to try to recreate the noise and chaos of a battlefield."
As well as re-enactments, Mark trains and supplies horses for medieval-themed jousting events.
"There are only a handful of people in this line of work in the country and I realised that there was a shortage of horses trained to take part," he said. "It's one of the most difficult things that you can train a horse to do."
Last year Mark won a jousting competition in Belgium and now organisers have asked for his horses again this year.
He says one of his favourite jobs is the annual 'Fire and Demons' show at the Royal Armouries Museum on Hallowe'en, and he once provided horses for a publicity stunt in the foyer of the Harvey Nichols store in Leeds.
Mark is now offering jousting lessons to youngsters who visit him for schooling.
He added: "Little lads who come for lessons really love the jousting as it's something different and exciting, but also makes them feel quite tough!"
Published on 8th May 2008 in News.
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