Spirit of the Horse is one of the most highly anticipated shows to hit Sussex in many years. It has been a decade since the touring production last made its way to the UK. Jamie Walker spoke to Binky Beaumont, the voice of the show, to find out all about it.

This is a big tour for Spirit of the Horse and it has been a long time coming.

It’s the first time in ten years we’ve brought the show back to the United Kingdom. We’ve performed in different places all over the world, including Dubai and Oman. It’s a fantastic production. We’re only in the UK for ten weeks, so it’s great to include on of our adopted home cities, Brighton, as one of the venues this year.

So tell us a bit about the show?

Well the true stars of the show are the horses. The show was put together in 2002 as a fusion of dance, theatre, but incorporating the horses. So we have some aerial performance artists and the Russian Cossacks, who we’re delighted to have back again this year, and it features the legendary dancing horses. It’smore than 20 horses from six countries, complemented by the score we’ve had written for the show and the most incredible lighting. We turn each field site into a complete theatre, with a 2,000 seat arena. It’s a theatrical production with performance artists and the horses.

So why has it taken so long for this show to come back to the UK?

The size of the production is the main problem, it dictates that we can only go to certain places because of the size. The logistics of booking some of these acts, who come from across the globe, the horses have come from Russia, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, we bring them from all over the world just to do the show in the UK. Then after they all go back to their home countries. There are nearly 100 people who work on the production alone, not taking into account the publicity, marketing, behind the scenes, it’s a massive production. It’s such a mammoth tour, that’s why we’re only here for such a short time.

How long does it take from planning the show to getting it ready to run?

Five years ago was when we started looking at bringing it back, but that involved directors flying out to look at all these different acts and deciding what to put together. Then you have to combine it with the choreography, the score, the lighting, the dancers, it takes a lot of time. Rehearsals were nearly eight weeks in the UK. Travel is a factor too. On top of that every venue we have vets, feed suppliers, there’s a team that work very hard to ensure everything is ready and assembled by the time we’re ready to perform. The main priority is the health and happiness of our equestrian stars.

Like you mention, you have a lot of animal stars, much like a circus. How do you ensure the horses are well looked after?

Obviously this is not a circus, it’s an equestrian theatre production. A lot of the animals are owned personally by some of the acts. Some of the Cossacks are paired with the horse at the age of eight or nine and will stay with it throughout its life. If the horse has a cold or a chill then the Cossacks will sleep with them overnight. The same with the Spanish dancing horses, they stay with them most of the time. We always adhere to government regulations because the priority is the horses. The show is for equestrian enthusiasts and anyone else. The arena is built so that at the end of the show they have space and freedom, you can come and see them after the show in our purpose-built stables.

It is amazing you can build this arena for the shows too.

We have to turn a flat field into a complete theatre. You wouldn’t be able to get these horses in a real theatre. First of all there’s the stage size, and they also won’t have purpose built stables, so we have to do it in these green fields. It’s also important, which is why we use venues like Fontwell, is that they give the riders plenty of room to go out. They’re not just doing the show, they like to go and take the horses into the forest or the woods and that’s why we chose specific venues. It’s important for them all to go out. Fontwell is a beautiful venue for us and we’re looking forward to coming.

Do the team get the chance to go and explore the towns they are in?

Every week, for the following week, we send out a list of places to go and things to do, rides they can take the horses on, in each place. We also contact the local riding schools and get them involved. We have a massive love for our horses in the UK.

So why is Spirit of the Horse the show to see?

We’re the largest touring phenomenon in Europe. If you don’t like horses that’s not a problem. It’s the size of the show, it’s something much bigger. We always get hundreds of messages about it. It’s in a class of its own and an unforgettable event for all ages.