Even while his children give him headaches, John Dutton finds solace in the time he spends with Tate Dutton in Paramount Network’s Western series ‘Yellowstone.’ When Tate grows enough to be on horseback, John gives him a taste of the cowboy experience as well. Soon, Tate starts to ride horses on his own, despite being a little boy. In the fifth episode of the fifth season, he joins his grandfather and father Kayce Dutton as the Duttons and the ranch hands of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch leave for a branding camp. Intrigued by Tate’s horse riding skills, we have found out whether Brecken Merrill, who plays the character, had to learn to ride horses for the show. Well, here’s the answer!
Does Brecken Merrill Know Horse Riding?
Brecken Merrill did learn horse riding for playing Tate Dutton in ‘Yellowstone.’ In the earlier seasons of the show, Merrill didn’t have to ride horses extensively, and even when he did, it was with Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce, or Kevin Costner, who plays John. However, when the show progressed, depicting Tate’s growth, riding horses became an essential part of the actor’s performance. Thus, he learned to ride horses on the sets of the show. “Instead of going to the cowboy camp, on set, while I am filming and I don’t have to work, I actually in the morning take horse riding lessons on the ranch. It’s great,” Merrill told PIX11 News.
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The early morning horse riding practice sessions became an integral part of Merrill’s routine as a cast member of ‘Yellowstone.’ The sessions also helped him to transform himself into an on-screen cowboy. “I am comfortable on a saddle and I did all ‘cowboyed’ up for the new [fifth] season,” Merrill added. In the show, Tate gets his own horse, named Lucky, from John when he grows up. In reality, the same horse became Merrill’s constant companion. During the production of the second season of the show, Merrill had to train with the horse along with Almarie Clifford, his set teacher.
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Although Merrill trained horse riding extensively for the recent seasons of the show, he started his basic preparation in the first season. “It’s really fun riding horses. I actually have a specific horse that I like to ride. It’s Taylor’s horse. Its name is Tilly. It’s black and white. It’s beautiful,” Merrill shared in an interview given for a ‘Yellowstone’ behind-the-scenes special in 2018, after the broadcast of the first season. “I had five horseback lessons in Montana for like an hour on Tilly, which is pretty cool,” the actor added.
Merrill has been sharing his horse riding experience ever since Tate has become a little cowboy in ‘Yellowstone.’ He also rides horses occasionally with his mother Kristy Phillips, who supports her son during the show’s filming. Thus, Tate’s horse riding skills are the result of Merrill’s dedication to learning the same while performing as an actor in the show. Even as a little boy, the actor succeeds in inspiring his fellow performers by committing himself to the needs and demands of his character.