MORE on horses, more on April Carantes, perhaps the most enthusiastic horsewoman in town.

Who says she must have been six when she started riding. Her family lived in the Gibraltar area when she was young, so she had only to borrow a horse from among the countless relatives who lived around. Also, most of the horse owners of Wright Park were relatives, and she remembers just walking down to the park and borrowing a horse, which she then rode home.

Other horse-owning relatives were from John Hay, Trinidad, and Itogon. So the young April, growing up, had no problem borrowing from their stables.

But she got her own horse in 2014. It was named Ambit and belonged to an uncle, William Esteban, who still owns a wide cattle ranch in Wangal, La Trinidad and is now a councilor in Tublay. When April asked if she could buy Ambit, her uncle said yes.

This was the horse that went on to become famous because it was used as the horse of the character of Antonio Luna, in the movie Heneral Luna (2015).

Since then, April has bought and sold many other horses. Actually, she trades them, too. At present, she owns many of them, scattered about. A healthy number, obviously, because she won’t tell how many.

What she does confess to is how she feels when on a horse: “I feel so happy whenever I ride a horse! I consider it a therapy and the best exercise as well. By the way, I am a bareback rider. I am also active in joining the parades of Baguio and La Trinidad.”

April also quotes Sharon Ralls Lemon, author of the Ultimate Horse Book (1991), who contends that “The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit and freedom.” April adds, “Horses understand us humans. I like them more than dogs.”

As she surmises, there seems to be a long history between Wright Park and the Filipino film industry. The former remains the go-to place for the latter when they need horses.

When they were needed for Heneral Luna, “The film crew and production assistants went to Wright Park to rent horses for the movie and luckily, Ambit was chosen to be part of it because he knows how to pull a caritela/wagon. Not all horses can do that.

“They always contact Scott Madon (Wright Park Pony Boy and Officer) for the horses to be rented out for movies. He is also a good friend of mine.

“Movies El Presidente and Goyo, ang Batang Heneral rented horses from Wright Park. Some of the pony boys worked as groomsmen and doubles as well.”

So Wright Park boasts of pony boys with acting experience? You betcha.

Next week, Wright Park.