Horse Trainer Turned Movie Star- Beth Gouthro
Gouthro as Cassie with fellow equine actor, Oreo Cookie Whiz. Photo by Shawn Sprouse, SDS Photography.
By: Brittany Bevis
How does a horse trainer with no acting experience land the starring female role in a feature film? For Beth Gouthro, it was a chance encounter while she was at the feed store one day that spurred this new adventure into motion.
“One day in November 2014, I got a phone call from a movie producer named Rebecca Nelson,” Gouthro says. “She explained that she and her husband, Durell, were producing a feature film that involved Reining horses and that she had come across our website. She couldn’t get over how much I resembled the main character in the movie and wanted to talk with me about doing some work as a double rider for the main character.”
“She jokingly asked if I had any acting experience, which I did not. Rebecca sent me the script to read over, and I couldn’t help but be drawn to the character of Cassie. There were so many things about her and her struggles to which I could relate.”
They’d originally planned on using Gouthro solely as a body double for riding scenes in the movie, but after a meeting with the author, they decided no one else would be a better fit to play the role of Cassie.
Beth and Matt Gouthro at the All American Quarter Horse Congress.
“Rebecca and the author, Becky Boyette, set up a date to come out to our barn and meet me,” she says. “They walked into the barn, we chitchatted for a while, and they both teared up. The said they thought they may have found their Cassie. After working with both ladies for a couple of months on acting exercises, they officially offered me the role!”
Gouthro landed the role of Cassie in Texas Rein, a movie based on the book of the same name by author and Texan native Becky Boyette. The story is about an ex-rodeo queen turned single mom who returns to her roots when she’s called home due to her father’s illness.
“It’s about the prodigal daughter returning home where she finds healing in her relationships with her father, her spirituality, and herself by way of getting back into the show pen and finding a little bit of romance along the way,” Gouthro says.
With a lifetime spent in the horse industry, Gouthro had the skill, knowledge, and insight into what it means to be both a competitive equestrian and mother. Currently, she and her husband Matt own and operate BMG Show Horses in Staunton, Virginia where they train and compete on the AQHA circuit. In fact, their farm was one of the locations used in the movie.
“I learned so much about the filming process through this movie,” she says. “There is so much that goes into it. We were on set about 28 days. We filmed at various locations in Virginia including The Virginia Horse Center and our very own farm. About two and a half weeks were filmed at our place.”
On the set of the movie with Ben Davies!
“I cannot tell you how positive and wonderful the entire cast, crew, and production of Texas Rein were to work with. I was so blessed to be able to work with so many talented and accomplished people who helped raise me up and made me feel confident and supported! Naturally, I was able to widely use my equestrian skills in this role. I even did my own stunt work!”
Gouthro with members of the cast, Gregory Perrow and Jeff Kidd.
One of the most exciting parts to film was one particular scene where “Cassie” runs horseback through a field. In order to capture all the action, a truck loaded down with a camera crew raced alongside Gouthro and her horse. “At times, there was only a few feet between my horse and the truck with bouncing men and cameras!”
Many of the horses used in the film were from Gouthro’s own training barn and several clients appeared as extra background riders.
“A horse owned by Dana Lanning, named Very Well Could Be, was used in a lot of the scenes as Splash,” she says. “This is a gelding that we raised by our co-owned stallion, Natural Resources, and out of one of our mares. ‘Tuck,’ as we call him, is shown by Matt and Dana in Ranch Riding at AQHA shows in real life.”
Gouthro feels blessed to have been able to work with fellow trainer, Mike McEntire, who provided the Reining horses that were used for competitive scenes in the movie. One of the horses that helped portray the main equine character, Splash, was the real-life AQHA Reining stallion, Oreo Cookie Whiz. In the movie, Cassie’s father’s dream has always been to enter his winning Quarter Horse, Splash, in the Olympic Trials. With the help of trainer, Chase Eversoll, Cassie might be able to make that dream come true. You’ll have to watch the movie to find out!
The Gouthro Family.
Now that the movie has completed filming, Gouthro eagerly anticipates the release date, which is expected for 2015. We can’t wait to see Beth Gouthro in her acting debut as Cassie!
Click here to watch the movie trailer of Texas Rein on Vimeo.
