TheQuartering [10/3/2022]
Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel the Elf in Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, describes the preparation that went into the monumental horseback battle sequence of the sixth episode.
Episode 6, titled “Udûn,” finally gave fans the bloody battle that they’ve long been waiting for. Throughout the fast-paced fighting scenes, Galadriel dodges orcs’ weapons by swiftly sliding off the saddle to the side of her horse, and Clark, in an interview with Variety, admitted that these impressive feats were performed by a stunt person. “I can’t believe that was possible,” she said. “Before doing this, I thought so much of horse stunts were CGI, but it wasn’t.”
Clark continued her praise of the stunt team, saying, “There were loads of amazing stunt riders on this, but their horses were incredible and so was the connection they had with them. Seeing the stunt team say goodbye to their horses when we finished was really emotional.”
Horse riders reportedly trained for four months in order to prepare for the dynamic sequence: three hours of stunts per day and three days of riding per week. For Clark and other members of the cast, the equestrian training was helpful but challenging. “Lots of us had started having never ridden — me anyway — and were quite nervous and scared,” Clark recalled. “I rode a horse called Titan, who is apparently one of the greatest horses they’ve ever had and is the most well-trained. I feel that a lot my horse riding skills are down to the horse I was on, but I’m no longer terrified. Once you feel comfortable on a horse, it’s the closest to magic I’ve ever experienced. You also have this connection to the people of the past, something that humans have done forever.”