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A minute with Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling
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A documentary
©2006 Stormy May Productions

 

Synopsis:
Imagine that you could travel the world to meet some of the greatest communicators of our times. These are not politicians, diplomats, philosophers, or teachers in a traditional sense; they call themselves horse trainers. A former war-scarred Russian soldier would teach you how to coax the extraordinary out of a horse without use of bridles or bits, an Aikido master in the Colorado Rockies would guide you in breath and body disciplines that a horse can understand. You would follow a woman in California into a herd of wild horses and learn to be accepted. You'd watch as a woman in the Arizona desert helped people find healing solace from their equine partners, and you'd join a man in Denmark as he roamed the countryside in complete harmony with his surroundings. What could you learn that would change the way you live your daily life?

This inspirational documentary explores the future of horse-human relationships and ultimately all human relationships. As our culture evolves from domination over nature into a partnership, we see this change being reflected in the work that people are doing with horses. This is a story of visionaries, of men and women who have made it their life's work to develop and reveal their innermost thoughts and feelings through achievement of a synergistic balance with the horse's own elegant naturalness. Horses have a gift to share; teaching us how to develop community, leadership, trust, and love within our own families through a connection that goes beyond words.

Format:
90-minutes, shot in 16:9 high definition digital video for transfer to film

Audience:
People around the world have a special love for horses, and consequently this documentary will emotionally touch viewers from all continents of the world. While the content is directed towards adults, this is a story that an entire family will enjoy. Film festival submissions and a theatrical release will provide one avenue of distribution. The program should also find national distribution either on broadcast stations such as Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel or in the PBS arena. Although there can be no guarantees of the actual carriage (amount of airings on TV) that the program will receive, a minimum promotion in PBS stations should garner at least 60 stations nationwide. Stormy May Productions also has a deal with Trafalgar Square Publishers who will look to educational, private, and specialty markets to increase distribution.

Treatment:
Horses continue to be an enduring favorite subject for filmgoers and television audiences alike. The Path of the Horse shows the progress toward true partnership between horses and humans. Through the development of qualities such as respect, humility, and an inner stillness, these people have learned to relate to horses in ways that, in many cases, bring to life the myths and fantasies that have long surrounded the equine species.

The program will focus on several individuals from around the world who are considered "pathfinders". They are a select group of men and women, each with a unique and extraordinary vision, all of whom are dramatically changing the way we interact with horses. This documentary will take these lessons and then apply them to ways we can change our own human interactions to build community, develop strong relationships, and help raise our children.

Including
    Alexander Nevzorov:
Producer: The Horse Encyclopedia, Nevzorov Haute Ecole
Base: St. Petersburg, Russia

As a battle-scarred and wounded soldier of several military operations and wars, Mr. Nevzorov came to hate the cruelty, injustice, and senseless violence of mankind. His own sensitivities repelled him from what he saw as traditionally violent methods of training horses. Over years of work he would work within the art of Haute Ecole, teaching horses piaffe, passage, capriole and other exercises training horses without the use of bits, bridles, spurs, or any other form of coercion. While most trainers say this is not possible, Alexander's results are irrefutable and he has created a school of believers.

    Mark Rashid:
Author: Considering the Horse and Horses Never Lie
Base: Estes Park, Colorado

Horsemanship can, in the end, be more about a way to be than a set of things to do. This is Mark Rashid's credo. He strives to work with horses in a way that preserves those essential parts of their nature: their power, their sensitivity, their subtlety and their desire to get along. Rashid uses his experience in the martial art of Aikido to see horses as "energy", and much of his work centers around the ideas of redirecting and influencing energy.

To the surprise of his students, Rashid says the best place to practice horsemanship is outside the arena, while driving or at work or with one's children. "Practice being soft, breathing, awareness and patience anywhere, and then simply bring the practice to our horsemanship." A technique can have a "Here, horse, let me help you" feel behind it. Or it can have a, "You better do this or else" feel behind it. The feel behind the technique can be the factor that decides whether the technique is effective or not.

    Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling:
Author: Dancing with Horses, What Horses Reveal
Base: Akedah School, Lyø, Denmark

After teaching, traveling, and studying mythology, Klaus, at the age of 29 decided to study more deeply the most significant symbol of our culture, the horse. He took off for the Spanish Pyrenees to be with the untamed herds in their natural environment. What he came back with was a new understanding of how horses can lead to the recognition of ones own self, through awareness of the self of each horse. Rather than seeing the horse and our fellow humans through a cloud of our own concepts and images, he teaches people to recognize others in their essence, which leads to communication and healing.

    Linda Kohanov:
Author: The Tao of Equus and Riding Between the Worlds
Base: Epona equine program, Sonoita, Arizona

"The equine system is like a huge receiver and amplifier for emotional vibrations. No matter how good you are at hiding things from yourself and others, your nervous system still involuntarily broadcasts what you're really feeling, at a frequency horses are especially good at tuning in to."

This horse to human biofeedback is the basis of Linda's Epona program in which she helps equestrians who have reached an impasse with their mounts. She reveals how many of so-called "problem horses" are simply mirroring feelings and intentions their owners had no idea they were projecting.

     Carolyn Resnick:
Author: Naked Liberty
Base: Escondido, California

Known as "the girl who talked to horses" while growing up in the 1940s and 50s, Carolyn put these qualities to the test as she sought to gain acceptance into a band of wild horses. Progressing up the pecking order with nothing but her own two feet and a desire for acceptance, she ultimately unlocked the secrets of the herd and was invited to ride the lead mare in complete liberty.

Carolyn possesses a gift not only for communicating with horses, but for teaching these processes for everyone to use not only with horses but within their families and communities.

     Just Added! Interview with visionary equine artist Kim McElroy
Illustrator: The Way of the Horse - Equine Archetypes for Self Discovery

As a child, she imagined she was a horse, and later turned to drawing them as a way to express her dreams. The inner world she created of horses was much more complex and emotional than the outer reality she discovered at riding stables. Though she never owned a horse until the age of 30, her intuitive understanding of their nature went beyond physical proximity.

Program Structure:
The horse-human relationship has evolved differently throughout the world, each culture bringing a fresh approach to horsemanship and each individual trainer uniquely discovering their own path towards working with horses.

The Path of the Horse is a ninety-minute documentary that introduces the viewer to some of the world's greatest horse trainers, and accompanies them as they ply their trade, developing extraordinary hands-on relationships with their horses. Sometimes the viewpoint is from that of the trainer, sometimes from that of the horse and often it will come from that of people who have sought out these trainers to help them improve their own skills in communicating with the equine world.

Each trainer will in turn seem to be the main narrator, their approach and story revealing a new understanding of human-horse relationships, yet their methods soon lead to other unanswered questions that involve different lines of research and yet another interview/point of view. Voice-over narration will be off-camera, and used sparingly to link segments of the story together. Music and sound effects will help segue elements of the story, and be used to evoke specific emotional response from the viewer. Dramatizations may be used to recreate defining moments in the lives of the trainers, horses and students. Animated sequences may assist in discussion of difficult conceptual ideas. Using High Definition digital video medium, many subtleties will be able to be captured that would otherwise be lost to the casual observer.

Projected timeline:
Principal filming began June 2007 and was completed in October 2007. Editing will take place through the winter with a projected release date of spring 2008.

Budget:
This project needs financial suporters to make it happen. Major investors interested in further information are encouraged to email or call Stormy May at 530 274 3160. The projected budget to complete this project is $500,000. USD.

Give yourself the satisfaction of helping spread greater understanding, compassion and inspiration in the horse world and throughout humanity. If you can't make a major donation but just think this is a groovy idea you'd like to support you can send donations in any amount using the information below.

There are three ways to donate:

1) Make a direct donation to Stormy May Productions through PayPal using the button below. PayPal accepts many forms of payment including all major credit cards. A PayPal account is not required for this form of payment.

2) Mail your donation to Stormy May Productions at:

PO Box 1019
Cedar Ridge, CA
95924 USA

3) If you would like to make a large donation and use it as a tax write-off you can do it through our friends at Return To Freedom, a wild horse sanctuary in Lompoc, California. Please email us directly at stormy@stormymay.com for more information.

5% of your donation made through Return To Freedom will go to support their wild horse program.

For other communication about this project
Email: stormy@stormymay.com