Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1079787
SPRING 2019 13 A F T E R H O U R S whispery truisms from the porch of a private ranch in Lake Hughes, 60 miles outside of Hollywood. Out here where the air is clean and where cell phone service can be spotty, Hartle and his wife, Gina, board and work with the 12 horses which, Hartle says, keep him grounded both professionally and personally. The commute from Lake Hughes is lengthy, and Hartle is up plenty early to take care of his horses before he heads to his industry job, but the trade-off is well worth it. "They center me," he says. "I'm able to do a thing I call going to zero. When things are going really bad, I just go all the way quiet inside myself so my mind can think." At the ranch, Hartle leads a gentle mare named Bonnie through a series of exercises that illustrate some of the same principles he brought to bear in that Film Roman production meeting. Whether Bonnie is being asked to trot, jump, turn or approach, the horse does so calmly and willingly often with little more than a sound cue or a hand gesture. Hartle developed his affinity for horses after more than 30 years of working with the animals but that human-horse connection is something that he says everybody can develop. Through his side business, Hartle's Reluctant Rodeo, Hartle conducts training and therapy sessions. Reluctant Rodeo clients span all ages and all riding abilities. Some come to help strengthen their bonds with a newly purchased horse. Others may be recovering from an injury, dealing with a lack of confidence or are on the autism spectrum. "The horse is kind of like our doctor," says Hartle. "I teach you their language and I challenge you to take the horse over without touching it, speaking to it in its own language. After awhile, I've found that what ends up happening is humans start discovering things about themselves. Maybe they'll conquer some fears or learn how to carry themselves with a kind of quiet power." Hartle's instructor was, in fact, a horse. Some 15 years ago, he accepted an invitation to join a group of riders chasing wild horses in the Tehachapi Mountains. He came back with a mustang, which he named Cheyenne that he says, "taught me everything, the whole language they had." When he would gesture, Cheyenne would make a counter-gesture. Man and horse eventually reached an understanding and Hartle discovered that integrating Cheyenne among his domesticated horses allowed him to develop new riding techniques with his entire stable. The synch he strives for working with horses is something he seeks out in his animation work as well. He references a voice-over session for Marvel's Next Avengers during which an executive was looking to micromanage a session of a cast, who had been together for several years. Hartle thought the just recorded session was nearly perfect as it stood. He asked the executive to listen to the playback and convinced him to leave it alone. "You've got to realize when you're in the creative process to leave what's working alone," Hartle says. "If you totally miss the mark, OK, I'll step in. If I sit down and it just sounds great, I don't touch it." He envisions one day blending his two interests and creating an animated character who can demonstrate the dos and don'ts of horse interaction. For the time being, the two worlds seem to coexist seamlessly. "Waking up excited to see what the day has for you, I think that's something you have to search out," he says. "Then you find it and move out into the world. Because if you don't have that center, then the rest doesn't matter." —Evan Henerson Learn more about Hartle's horseman- ship at hartlesreluctantrodeo.com opposite: Hartle and his mare, Bonnie, at his Lake Hughes ranch. "Waking up excited to see what the day has for you, I think that's something you have to search out... Then you find it and move out into the world. Because if you don't have that center, then the rest doesn't matter."