Equine Actors - Cass Ole

Early Life

Photo From: wikipedia.org

Cass Ole was born and bred in Texas on March 6, 1969. Originally bred to be a show horse, Cass Ole won many titles over his seven-year show career. He was National Champion Western Pleasure in 1975, National Reserve Champion Arabian Ladies Side Saddle in 1976, and U.S. Top Ten English Pleasure in both 1975 and 1976. Total, the stallion won 50 championships and 20 reserve championships. However, it is his role in The Black Stallion that the horse is most famous for.

The Black Stallion

Photo From: Black Mountain Ranch

Cass Ole was discovered on an international search for a black Arabian to play The Black in the upcoming film The Black Stallion. He was found at a ranch in San Antonio, and was chosen because of his temperament and appearance. The only stipulation for his use in the film was that he could not be used in running or swimming scenes, along with anything the owners considered too strenuous. Due to this, three other horses were hired to perform the scenes Cass Ole could not. Cass Ole and his stunt doubles were trained in California for several weeks before filming in order to get used to working with their actors.

Despite having multiple doubles, Cass Ole is the star of the film, appearing in about 80% of the equine footage. He learned many skills, such as expressing anger by pinning his ears, rearing and stomping, and giving kisses to co-star Kelly Reno.

Cass Ole had to undergo certain alterations to maintain his role as The Black. He was a naturally black-colored animal, but he had white leg markings and a white star that had to be dyed black while he was on screen. He also had to have his mane enhanced for the film. Cass Ole had his mane trimmed to have a bridle path, and his mane came down to about the width of his neck. In order to hide the clipped bridle path and create a flowing mane, extensions had to be stitched in to create a longer and fuller look.

View a clip of Cass Ole in The Black Stallion here.

Doubles and Stand-Ins

Fae Jur, a horse from California, was the main double for Cass Ole. He was extremely independent and loved fake-fighting. His memorable scenes include when Alec tempts the stallion with seaweed on the beach, when The Black stomps and kills a cobra, and when the stallion strikes at another horse before the final race.

View a clip of Fae Jur in the cobra scene here.

Junior and Star were two stunt horses that stepped in for fighting, running, jumping, and swimming scenes. Star was the actor in the scene where The Black gets tangled in a rope between two rocks. He was so unconcerned about the whole ordeal that it took the trainers tossing pebbles at him to get him to look agitated.

None of the available equine doubles enjoyed being in the water, so French horses were brought in from the lagoons of Camargue to film the underwater shots. The crew stated that these horses were incredibly ugly and had pot bellies, but they turned into graceful animals when swimming in the water.

Photo From: pinterest.com

Post-Filming

After filming both the film and its sequel, Cass Ole became an equine celebrity. He showed up at many fundraisers and special events. In 1980 he won the Human Society Award for The Prevention of Cruelty To Animals at the International Horse Show in Washington, D.C. He was present at Ronald Reagan’s inauguration. He performed in multiple countries, including Italy, Algeria, and Morocco. His final performance was in the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. He retired under the professional horse trainer George Gipson of Tenaha, Texas. While he went on to stand at stud and sire over 130 foals, none of them were able to match his success. In 1993, Cass Ole unfortunately had to be euthanized due to a severe case of colic.