The Horse Whisperer Page #11

TOM:

If it's not too much trouble, I

thought I might.

RONA:

(playful)

Kind of trouble I'm in the mood for.

TOM:

Oh-oh... Maybe I better get back in

the truck.

Rona lets out a hearty laugh as they enter the horse arena.

EXT. HORSE ARENA, CALIFORNIA - DAY

Inside the corral, a small black thoroughbred is being worked

by Tom. As he rides and narrates into a radio microphone to

the crowd, we sense this is a man of good humor and great

skill -- guileless, sensible, of the earth.

TOM:

...It's always kind of interesting

to hear the horse's side of the

story...

The crowd laughs warmly. He directs his comments to a WOMAN

wearing an expensive Ralph Lauren western outfit, standing

outside the corral...

TOM:

Now if he was cranky or lazy, like

you say he is, we'd be seeing his

tail twitching there and his ears

back, maybe. But this isn't a cranky

horse, it's a scared horse. You see

how braced he is up around the neck

back there. He just doesn't know

which way to turn...

The Woman nods. Tom turns the horse on a dime so that he

always stays facing the circling thoroughbred...

TOM:

You see how he keeps pointing his

hindquarters in at me? Well, I'd

guess the reason he seems reluctant

to move out is because when he does,

he gets in trouble for it.

THE WOMAN:

He's not good at transitions, you

know? When I want him to move from a

trot to a lope, say...

TOM:

(smiles)

Well, I'm sure that's what you think

but that's not what I'm seeing. You

may think you're asking for a lope,

but your body may be saying something

else altogether. You might be putting

too many conditions on him. For

instance, you might be saying "GO,

but, hey, don't go too fast." He can

tell that from the way you feel.

Your body can't lie. You ever give

him a kick to make him move out?

THE WOMAN:

He won't go unless I do.

TOM:

And then he goes and you feel like

he's going too fast, so you yank him

back?

(she nods)

And next thing you know, he's bucking.

(she nods again)

Well, if someone told you to go,

stop, go, stop -- you'd buck too.

The people laugh. The Woman smiles self-consciously.

TOM:

It's a dance, see... Somebody has to

lead and somebody has to follow.

Tom gracefully moves his horse around the ring, "dancing".

He then takes up a long coiled rope and throws it so that

the coils slap against the black horse's flank, making it

burst into a lope. And again... Making the animal go from a

trot to a lope, letting it slow, then up to a lope again.

TOM:

I want him to get so he can leave

real soft. He's getting the idea

now. He's not all braced up and tense

like he was at the start. He's finding

out it's okay.

He throws the rope again and this time the transition to the

lope is a smooth one.

TOM:

You see that? He's getting better

already. Pretty soon, if you work at

it, you'll be able to make all these

transitions easy on a loose rein.

(sotto voce, wry)

Yeah, and pigs'll fly.

(to Woman)

He's going to be okay -- so long as

you don't go yanking on him.

She nods, but he can see she's upset, feeling foolish. He

walks the horse over to her, turns off the microphone and

speaks sympathetically:

TOM:

Look, the truth is it's all about

self-preservation. These animals...

(with great affection)

...well, they just have such big

hearts, you know? There's nothing

they want more than to do what you

want them to do. But when the messages

get all confused, the only thing

they know to do is try and save

themselves... Now, why don't you go

saddle up and see what happens.

Feeling better, and not a little attracted to his heartfelt

man's man, the Woman smiles and reaches for his hand to climb

over the rail. Her horse lets her come right up to him and

stroke his neck. Tom comments;

TOM:

They won't ever hold a thing against

you. They're the most forgiving

creatures God ever made.

Turning on his mike and turning back to the crowd, he says:

TOM:

Okay, who's next?

A Young Boy leads a mule into the ring. Tom smiles:

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