Californians in San Francisco and Los Angeles got a surprise this week when three horses and riders were seen on local beaches. But these were not just any riders; the horses were ridden by people wearing authentic Planet of the Apes costumes as part of a promotion for the newest film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes which is being released on May 8.

The horses seemed blasé about the whole spectacle, even though they were literally having a monkey on their back. But it was all in good fun, and passersby were quick to snap images and videos to upload to social media.

@dailymail

Why are there apes on horseback at Venice Beach?! It turns out it’s an ingenius marketing effort to promote 20th Century’s upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes movie. 🦍🐴 🎥 @Switchflipjones / LOCAL NEWS X / TMX #planetoftheapes #apes #horses #venicebeach #california

♬ Monkey Spinning Funny (Remix) – okychoky

Directed by Wes Ball, this movie is the fourth installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot franchise and stars Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, and William H. Macy.

Watch the official Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes trailer here: