Only 3 movies in the history of cinema have won 11 Oscars to date. While two of them are Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the 3rd is a movie that was released nearly 7 decades ago. It still holds up as one of the most magnificent pieces of work ever made. Ben Hur by William Wyler traces the story of the namesake nobleman during Roman times, who gets falsely convicted of treason and then later seeks revenge. Besides other praiseworthy instances, the movie is iconic for its ‘Chariot Racing’ scene that involved the use of many horses of the Andalusian and Lippizan breed of horses.

Somewhere near the halfway mark in the film, a chariot race between Ben Hur and the Roman soldier Messala takes place. Years before CGI was even a figment of anyone’s imagination, the entirety of the stretched-out horseriding and racing scene was done in live action in real-time. Any modern-day equestrian would be proud of the horseriding skills involved in that scene.

How Ben Hur made it look so real

In the wake of Marvel and DC movies, which take up the bulk of blockbuster theatrical releases nowadays, a large section of these films are done using CGI. While they look cool and manage to wow the audience, Ben Hur did all of those years ago with its magical cinematography, especially during the ‘Chariot Race’ scene.

As many as 78 horses were brought over from Yugoslavia and Sicily at least 2 years before production started on the film. They were trained to be in their prime physical prowess, and animal handler Glenn Handler taught the actors to pull the Roman chariot. The horses were of Andalusian and Lippizan breeds.

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As per a Pololine article, the white horses of Sheikh Ilderim named Arabians, that Ben Hur competed in the race, were Andalusian. The black horses of Messala were of the Lippizan breed. The race that followed inside the Colosseum after, became monumental in cinema history since.

The importance of getting the horses authentic to the time period

Since horses played a vital role since antiquity, they were of utmost importance during Roman times as well. Therefore, it was imperative that the horses chosen for this movie, which are based in ancient Rome, be of the highest quality and maintained accordingly. As many as 20 stable boys were employed to take care of these horses and make sure they were no less than a racing thoroughbred, if not more. Horses have since played a major role in movies and TV shows, with the current Yellowstone being prime proof of that. The creator Taylor Sheridan even talked about the importance of horses in America once.

As far as the race within the movie is concerned, Messala’s chariot gets damaged after a thrilling 10 minutes or so of chariot racing. He is dragged behind by his horse, and Ben Hur emerged as the winner. Today, years later as the status of the movie, more yet, the scene still stands, credit is owed to the different horses of both breeds and their trainers and caretakers who ensured they were at their peak fitness.

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