This article first appeared in the May 2022 digital edition of Equestrian Life. To see what's in the current issue, click here. 

Julia is a devoted horse lover. 

Julia Roberts at home in the saddle

By Bernard Bale

If you ever saw Julia Roberts astride a rearing horse in her wedding dress in Runaway Bride, you’ll appreciate she really can ride. The Hollywood veteran and star of current hit miniseries Gaslit is a devoted horse lover.

There was a time when Julia Roberts was none too sure about horses and she admits that she was nervous when she was a girl – but she took the bit between her teeth and has been having fun with horses ever since.

“I was very young when I first got up close to a horse and looked up at him with my knees knocking,” says Julia. “I was not very big and that ‘horse’ was probably a 12-hand pony, but it sure looked like a horse to me and I didn’t know anything about reading a horse’s eyes in those days so I took his stare to mean that he didn’t like me very much!

“With encouragement I took to the saddle though and did as I was told. I think I was probably too nervous not to, and yes, I was not unhappy when it was all over. Then I walked away and thought about it and I began to feel differently. The next time I met that pony I wanted us to be friends and the pony didn’t seem to mind too much. That was my turning point and I changed from being frightened to death, to wanting to be around ponies and horses all the time.”

That was how Julia Roberts actually started on the road to becoming a very accomplished rider and she has always welcomed the times when her many great acting roles have meant that she could get into the saddle once again...

Read the full article in the May 2022 issue of Equestrian Life magazine.