Blindaj Billy – The Last Living Black Beauty from the 1994 Film
Last week I had the absolute pleasure of photographing Blindaj Billy, one of the five and last remaining horses that played Black Beauty in the 1994 film. He was the absolute star and the perfect gent you would expect him to be and incredibly photogenic. Even though he is now 29 years old (approaching 30), he’s still alert and interested in what’s going on which shows his beautiful and intelligent character and I can completely understand why his owner, Louise fell in love with him while working on the film as a 16 year old and persuaded the film company to sell him to her when he was just 4 years old.
I remember reading the book as a child and when the film came out, I must have been about 11 or 12 years old and I went to the cinema with my friend to watch it. I would never have imagined 25 years later I would be photographing one of the leading stars!
It was about a 4 and half hour drive and the weather forecast was not looking great the day before, but I took a risk and it definitely paid off. It turned out to be a glorious sunny day (although a little windy) and Billy looked super smart. You can just tell by his face he knows he’s special and although he now has arthritis, mentally he certainly doesn’t act his age.
Louise was adamant she didn’t want to be in any of the images, but towards the end I managed to persuade her and I’m so glad I got some of them together. These images just show the bond these two have. Not many horses get to spend nearly their whole life with one owner, and that’s why the story behind these two is such a special one!
Isn’t he just a Beauty!
As an Equine Photographer, this is definitely an Equine Photography shoot to remember!
