Horse Stampede

Description

Dad found himself buried underground in a steel water tank waiting for a herd of about 50 horses to stampede over the top of him. Dad’s idea was to capture a unique angle from below the horses. He knew this would be challenging to pull off safely. He turned to his friend Red Wolverton, who knew lots about movie magic and even more about horses.

The plan revolved around a steel tank with slits cut in the sides for cameras.
The tank would be buried inside Red’s corral with Dad and his crew inside. The slits would allow Dad to be at eye-level with the horses’ hooves and still have a degree of safety.

On the day of the shoot, they could feel the ground vibrating before they saw the horses. Then things happened fast and furiously. Dust. Stones. Dust. Hooves. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.
No one knew exactly what the horses would do, but Dad got his winning shot on the first run. The horses’ hooves came within six inches of the camera lenses and about 10 inches from Dad’s face. It was a close call, but a very successful shoot.