BUCK BRANNAMAN (Equine Technical Advisor), was the inspiration for Nicholas Evans' novel The Horse Whisperer and served as technical advisor for Touchstone Pictures' feature film adaptation.
Brannaman is a true Wyoming cowboy who bends a horse's spirit with a unique language of training a language of speech and harmony. Where other trainers "bust" horses and force them into physical submission, Brannaman's remarkable relationship with horses is reliant on his understanding of their intelligence and sensitivity.
"A horse is a kind and gentle animal," Brannaman says. "They're honest, and so sensitive, they can feel a mosquito land on its back in a windstorm. You have to work with that sensitivity and nurture it. If you don't, you'll dull it and lose it."
Born in Wisconsin, but raised in Harrison, Montana, Brannaman was trick roping at age 3 and by age 6 was traveling the country performing at rodeos and county fairs. His rapport with horses was innate. Placed in a foster home at the age of 11, after the death of his mother, Brannaman found solace in horse training at a nearby ranch in Norris, Montana. Although he was shy and withdrawn with his peers, he found himself confident and comfortable out in the corrals.
By age 13, Brannaman established his own business, starting colts and working horses. This job continued through high school and upon graduation, he studied with legendary horse trainer Ray Hunt, holding clinics across the country. It wasn't long before Brannaman became a master in his field and was initiated into an elite circle of horse trainers, including Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt, who subscribe to the "whispering" school of thought.
Brannaman, with his wife Mary, conducts over 40 three-day horsemanship clinics a year across the country and is credited as being one of the best horse trainers in the United States. It is because of this unprecedented reputation in the equestrian community that Robert Redford brought him on board as consultant for Touchstone Pictures' "The Horse Whisperer."
