Go behind the scenes with the Great Yorkshire Show Main Arena headline act,film and TV stunt riders, Atkinson Action Horses
This coming week Atkinson Action Horses stunt team would have seen them making their second headline appearance in the Main Arena at the Great Yorkshire Show.
And while they won’t be on the showground, they will be taking part in the virtual show which is running on the Great Yorkshire Show website from Tuesday to Thursday.
Ben Atkinson said the team had put together a short film which would give viewers an insight into life on the yard and how they train the horses. “It will give people a chance to see a little bit of what we would be doing at the show and also what goes on at the yard,” he said.
Based in Goole, Atkinson Action Horses was started by Ben’s father Mark, a former dairy farmer with a passion for horses. He diversified the family farm into a riding school and livery yard.
It was almost by accident that he got involved in supplying horses for film and TV. Filling in for a livery owner who was involved in re-enactments, he met a member of the English Civil War Society who asked about supplying cavalry horses.
Mark agreed and set about training the hunter hirelings, trying to recreate the noise and chaos of a battlefield with bonfires, dustbin lids and gunshots.
Today Mark, his son Ben and their team of riders have appeared in Gentleman Jack, Poldark, Peaky Blinders and are in the new production of All Creatures Great and Small.
This summer has seen the team using some rare time off to put in extra training with the horses.
“Normally we would be out performing every weekend which is really wonderful. But with the horses working hard during the shows and the rest of the time spent travelling and prepping, our training really takes place over the winter.
“With no performances we have had more time to invest in the horses and those which needed more time spending with them. It is lovely to have the time pressure removed from training.”
The Atkinson equine team is made up of different types of horses, many of which cost a few hundred pounds and Ben said the price is not important.
“One of my very best horses was a 15hh Welsh Cob. He was so talented and two of his biggest party tricks you could swear blind only the Spanish horses could do.”
When it comes to training Ben said the most important thing with any horse and regardless of discipline, is to keep instructions clear and focus on one thing at a time.
“Very often when we bring our horses out, we work in and move on to three or four goals in one session which is giving the horse lots of information in one go. Work to one goal and when it has been achieved, stop.”