Christmas pantomimes are already a riot of colour, costumes and craziness. Adding horses to the mix could bring another level of chaos, but it’s a challenge that producer Nicky de Neumann relishes. This month, Nicky, who runs the all-female stunt team Equestrienne Stunt Shows, is producing Cinderella, her first horseback pantomime. It is running in December and January, at venues across the south of England.
“I trained as an actress, so I’ve done straight panto,” says Nicky. “Cinderella has been a thing for me for ages. It’s the love of a challenge coupled with the desire to be creative. I have always been interested in the fusion of horses and theatre, and it’s been my life’s work to do that – and to pay the farrier and hay man over the winter!”
Nicky had a fairly normal horsey upbringing. Aged six, she was desperate for a pony, but her mother told her she’d need to save up and buy one herself. By the time she was 11, she had £500 in her piggy bank, and bought a four-year-old Welsh cob named Jester. She did Pony Club, jumping, gymkhanas – “I loved anything with speed” – but when she reluctantly accepted Jester was not going to take her to the top of the showjumping tree, she switched to teaching him stunts.
“I did work experience when I was 14 with this amazing old guy called Rodeo Dave, who used to trick-ride a bull, and I joined his team,” she says. “In 2005, I ran away to the circus with my childhood pony.”
There followed a two-year stint with Giffords Circus, and later with Zippos. Nicky learnt to do the can-can on the back of a horse, was taught how to Roman-ride by the cossacks, and all sorts of stunts.
“But I found it so frustrating that they used to want the boys to do the cool stuff, while the girls would play the princess, do one pretty trick and then stand in the corner,” Nicky says. “So I started an all-girl trick-riding team, Equestrienne Stunt Shows, and we’ve been touring ever since, performing stunts such as jousting, gladiators and Vikings at country shows.”
Nicky de Neumann training Zeus at home for his role in Cinderella. Credit Equipassion UK
(Image credit: EQUIPASSION UK)
Cinderella horseback pantomime: the main players
The cast of Cinderella is largely made up of the Equestrienne Stunt Shows team, although Prince Charming will be played by trick-rider Freddy Steele. Freddy will perform tricks on one of on Nicky’s horses, but he’ll also do a pas-de-deux with his girlfriend Holly Baber, a working equitation champion, and a solo act with the couple’s beautiful Portuguese horses.
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“The appeal of Cinderella is that it’s a new show that’s never been done before,” says Freddy, who got into trick-riding by chance when he was running a horse training business. “The highlight is going to be bringing the story together on beautiful horses.”
Cinderella will be played by Kat Pickering, who has performed with some of the most prestigious teams in the country including the Devils Horsemen and Atkinson Action Horses, at the likes of Horse of the Year Show and the London International. Despite the thrill this entails, she says her “real passion lies in classical dressage and liberty, combining the two disciplines to create equestrian art”. The role of Cinderella demands a new skill set.
“I’ve been doing live shows for eight years but it’s usually just stunts,” she says. “Doing an acting role with lines while also having to work with the horses will be an exciting challenge.”
Kat will be riding Sheba, one of Nicky’s grey Arabs, and will do some work bridleless.
“It will be a highlight to see Cinderella doing tricks, I don’t think that’s in the normal story!” adds Kat, who got into stunt work after finishing her degree. “I just Googled horses for TV after seeing some horses on a show I was watching. I thought it seemed like a fun gap year and was looking to groom, maybe ride a bit. I certainly didn’t expect to end up hanging up side down, nor for this to become my career. But I’ve had some incredible opportunities and I’m so glad I did that Google search.”
The Fairy Godmother (Elena Procopiu) riding a real-life unicorn, Zeus. Credit Equipassion UK
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
The Fairy Godmother will be played by actor, comedian, writer and voice-over artist Elena Procopiu, while Nicky will be playing one of Cinderella’s Ugly Sisters, alongside fellow trick-rider Alex Opgenoort.
“We’re going to be bad-mannered, outrageous rock chicks and charge around doing stunts,” says Nicky. “I’ll Roman-ride my horses Phoenix and Zeus and we’ll do other tricks, too.”
Nicky puts Phoenix and Zeus through their paces, Roman-riding the pair as one of Cinderella’s Ugly Sisters. Credit Equipassion UK
(Image credit: EQUIPASSION UK)
The equine stars of the Cinderella horseback pantomime
Nicky equine team are an eclectic bunch. Her top horse, another grey Arab, named Zeus, is nearing retirement at the age of 23, but he is her horse of a lifetime, having taken Nicky from performing the can-can at Giffords to heading up her team today. The black thoroughbred Phoenix is an ex-hurdler, whose speciality is jumping through fire. She also has a young black Spanish horse, who had a colic operation in the spring, but will be back on the circuit next season. Then there are her daughter’s ponies, one of which – Zorro – will pull the carriage in the show.
Practising stunts aboard ex-racehorse Phoenix. Credit Equipassion UK
(Image credit: EQUIPASSION UK)
“I have all sorts of horses,” Nicky says. “If I was sensible, I’d just have quiet, workmanlike ones – trying to do it with Arabs and thoroughbreds is tricky but I love them. You need some intelligence. Friesians are so handsome but they are slow learners.”
Nicky’s modus operandi is to find what a horse excels at and enjoys, and to focus on that. She always trains with positive reinforcement, using plenty of polos and making a fuss.
“You can tell if a horse is happy and trained in a positive way,” she says. “Each individual has strong qualities, and I’m always prepared to work with any quirks they may have.
“My ethos is that if the horses are happy and they like me, they’ll want to do it. Mine are all turned out 24/7 in summer, all day in winter. I almost never sell them – they’re part of my family and I’ve spent hours and hours training and loving them. They’re my babies.”
Cinderella’s audience are in for a swashbuckling festive treat, oh yes they are.
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Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
