10 Questions – Horse Rush Tv, Follow Your Dreams And Anything Is Possible!


HorsePoint - December 2005



Australia features some of the best equestrian trainers and products in the world and boasts an industry that is the fifth largest in the country (and fourth largest employer), estimated to be worth some $6.2 billion annually.


It should be no surprise then that we are also home to a world class Horse Lifestyle TV show, HorseRush TV (airing locally on the Foxtel network). Tat and Joe Frazzica, the show's creators, took time out of their very busy, and often international, schedules to answer some questions for us.

It is so great to see a tv program that covers the Australian horse industry (as well as internationally). How did Horse Rush Tv begin?
Well, Horse Rush TV began after a long break from horse riding due to a huge fall I had. I had never owned my own horse but wanted to get back into riding and get a horse. When I met and married Joe we used to go riding all the time. Then Joe and I met Carlos Tabernaberri, a local horse trainer in Northern Victoria and I started taking lessons with him. I couldn't believe how easy he made horsemanship seem. I couldn't understand why other people made it so expensive and complicated. Through Carlos I got my first horse Goldie, though she was too advanced for Joe and I. Carlos had bought her for himself but I was in love! She was everything I had dreamed of. She was the one for me I had to have her.

Goldie arrived at Carlos' farm with major baggage. First of all I don't even know how he got her on the trailer but he did, she had huge shoes on that clumped together when she walked, she was always aggressive to other horses to prove she was top mare, she had the biggest, cruellest bit I had ever seen and she was unstoppable without it, she was head shy, she was intimidating, she would pig root and rear when she didn't want to work and she would do the fastest turns and roll backs that if you weren't ready you would be off her fast. I can't tell you how many people she dumped (including Joe)! Most of Carlos' students would stay away from her. But I loved her. She never dumped me and only Carlos, myself (Tat) and this young student of Carlos rode her. No one else wanted a bar of her, not even Joe. Carlos finally gave into me and sold her to me on the condition I earn her respect. It took me 2 years and the rest is history as they say. I have to say Carlos did a fantastic job with her as she is the perfect horse now. Everyone comments on how well trained she is. Joe still won't ride her! Ha ha. At least they are friends now.

One night after watching the second garden show in a row on TV, and the Goldie experience, Joe and I questioned why there wasn't an Aussie horse TV show! We had travelled all around the world as I was working for an airline and we loved the animal shows and horse shows in the USA. So we worked on it for a year, asked around and decided to throw caution to the wind and start a Horse TV show as nobody else wanted too. We rang all the networks and one said you make it, you build it up and we will air it.

So we decided the show needed to educate & entertain horse owners on everything from training to vet subjects and it need to be a horse lifestyle show that horse owners and animal lovers would watch. We decided the Goldie situation would not be uncommon. We figured if horse owners had more education and were able to see great horse trainers, vets, farriers etc. on TV they would realise that any horse problem could be overcome and it would not have to cost an arm and a leg. We formed a team of specialists and all decided Horse Rush TV would be "for the horses". We wanted to give the public free education and save horses from recycling, being put down and being misunderstood. So the first show went to air in June 2003 in Melbourne.

I get the impression that all the cast and crew are one big happy family. How important are those relationships to the success of the show?
The cast and crew are one big happy family. They work so hard and Joe and I wouldn't have been able to make the show without them. The Cast have a huge responsibility to the pubic and the horses to do the best they can. The cast prepare for days and weeks before we film them. So much work and love goes into every segment that I can not even begin to put a figure on it in hours. On the other side the crew make it all happen from the camera operators to the editors. Filming segments is the easy part that we all love. If the cast and crew did not get along it definitely would not work. We are constantly expanding and getting new cast and crew. It's really important they communicate and get along.

It takes a lot of guts to put yourself in front of a camera when you know it's going to air around the country and you are willingly putting yourself and your reputation on the line for public criticism. For the horse specialists it's really hard. They know other specialists may not agree with them or they know they will be criticised for what they are going to say. But at the end of the day we believe in them and admire them for the guts and courage they have to get in front of the camera and teach the public to the best of their ability what they believe is best for the horse.

You're very committed to maintaining your independence, especially creatively. Now that you're in your second year Of production and larger companies (media etc) are taking notice is it harder or easier to dictate your own terms?
Well at the moment we air on cable. We value what the cable networks tell us on what direction they feel the show should head. We only really answer to our wonderful sponsors and make sure they are happy with the show. We have been approached by big name sponsors and networks and may lose some creative control if we go with them in the future but we will have to deal with that when it happens. Most of our cast and crew are happy to stay on cable in Australia, USA and UK next year. It would be nice to be on mainstream TV in Australia but being on main stream TV in Australia is only a small part of what we want for Horse Rush.

A lot of young people are very interested in entering the media industry. What would be your advice for someone trying to get into film and television?
I'll let Joe answer this one.
1. "WORK VERY HARD"
2. "If you don't love what you do forget it. So much time, money, blood sweat and tears goes into making a programme it would not work if your not 100% committed to making it happen.
3. "You need to be prepared to take calculated risks in life sometimes."
4. "You need as much money as possible, media is expensive."
5. "Follow your dreams anything is possible".

I think you have emerged into the Equestrian Industry at a very exciting time. How would you like to see the industry, especially the Australian industry, evolve over the next five to ten years?
We would like the Australian Equestrian/Equine Industry to be more united. We feel sometimes there is so much politics it's hard to get things done without upsetting others. They need to remember it's what's best for the horses and horse owners not what's best for them. If the industry would work together and help each other everyone would win. After all, the Australian horse trainers, farriers, vets, specialists are the best in the world. They are highly respected overseas.

I know you guys travel a lot. Is it hard to find time to relax at home on the farm? What do you like to do to unwind?
We have been fortunate enough to travel around the world doing what we love. When we are away, which is half of the year we miss our animals. (2 Siamese cats Stormy & Mickey, 3 horses Goldie, Champion & Spirit. 1 dog Doberman Gina) and our resident wombat Fatty and the hundreds of kangaroos on our property.

Tat - I like stay home with our animals and work the horses.
Joe - I like to trail bike with the boys and help with the horses.

We also have our friends and family over for massive BBQs on a regular basis.

When you are tracking down a horse story, what gets you really interested / motivated?
All the horse stories are exciting. We love really different things like the Marwari horses in India. Other things that get us pumped on a story is when the viewers write in and suggest story subjects and sometimes we get heaps of emails on the same subject. That is very motivating. An example would be the Barefoot story coming up. We are constantly being emailed Barefoot questions on horses. This will be a great segment to watch next year.

I bet you've seen some stuff that really blows you away. Do you get impatient with the time it takes between filming a story and getting it onto tv?
It does get stressful sometimes as you know an interview or segment is outstanding and you want the public to see it right away. With Internet now we will be able to show the segment before it makes it to TV. Sometimes the networks don't want us to show anything until it airs. That gets stressful as we can't wait for the public to see it. Unfortunately the viewers will have to stay tuned to Horse Rush TV.

What would be your ultimate horse story to cover?
The Marwari horse segments we filmed in India where unbelievable. We didn't even know India had these unique horses with different ears! Joe and I had always wanted to visit a country that was totally different to the Western world. We wanted to visit a country where cars didn't matter, where brands didn't matter where there would be no McDonalds. To be able to go to India and film horses blew us away. When we where contacted by our friends in India and where invited to Rajasthan Northern India to film horses we could not believe our luck. We knew the Aussies and Yanks would love it.

We went for two weeks and spent most of it on horse back visiting forts, villages and fairs along the way. We where riding on roads with camels, motorbikes, donkeys and everything you could imagine. In the towns when you rode in on horseback the whole village would part and stare. The kids would wave and pat the horses and you would be on top of the world.

We had so much fun it was such a different lifestyle to what we lead here. The country is beautiful the horses were amazing and the people were so kind. It is a beautiful country with an amazing diversity and culture. It's one of the best things we have done in our lives. We where so proud to be able to help our friends in India create an awareness of the Indigenous Horse of India. the Marwari Horse. We were the first Aussies to visit India and ride the Marwari Horses so that in itself is something we will treasure forever. We will be releasing a Documentary in the very near future so keep an eye on that one. (See Dundlod Fort to go on a ride in India.)

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about?
Series 2 and 3 continue next year on Aurora Channel on Foxtel Digital and Austar Digital in Australia. In the USA, on Horse TV across the country on Satellite. UK network will be released soon.

We will also air some doco DVDs we have made such as the Marwari Horse- Indigenous Horse of India, An Introduction to Barefoot Horses with Andrew Bowe, and some other new documentaries on the way – All available on the above networks.

We also want to thank our wonderful team of cast and crew, past and present, for making Horse Rush TV possible. All the people that featured in Horse Rush Series Two, the viewers all around the world for their continued support and loyalty to the show. Most of all a big thank you to the stars of the show, the horses. We look forward to Series Three and 2006.

We have the best horse people in the world here in Australia. The public need to support and encourage our local talent. They do not need to go elsewhere. Everyone and everything they need for their horses is right here in Australia. We should all be proud of the fact that everyone around the world has a tremendous amount of respect for the Australian Horse Industry and its people.

Take care, Tat & Joe, Horse Rush TV.

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