One of the hottest shows on television is Yellowstone, a contemporary western starring Kevin Costner as the scion and titular head of the Dutton family in Montana. The series is a sort of Godfather with cowboys, if you will, with all the betrayal, violence, and passion that goes into a wealthy family with everything to lose.
One of the show’s most popular characters is Beth Dutton, played exquisitely by Brit actress Kelly Reilly. This past weekend at the Careity Foundation’s celebrity cutting horse event in Fort Worth, Texas, Reilly and two of her Yellowstone co-stars, Jefferson White and Forrie J. Smith, joined in the festivities:
Reilly told reporters that she grew up in England riding horses, and even groomed and exercised polo ponies – yet her on-screen alter ego Beth hates riding! Reilly has shared photos of herself riding on Instagram, including one where she writes, “Riding with my guy Bart.”
Reilly is a private person, so we don’t know if Bart is her own horse, or a favourite to ride locally while she’s filming the show in Montana and Utah.
Kelly and Noble. (mzkellyreilly Instagram)
What is clear is that Reilly is a passionate horsewoman. In another Instagram post where she’s riding a mustang (left), she writes, “Last year I was fortunate to watch some brilliant experts in horsemanship work with this wild mustang. It was incredible to witness the relationship between man and a wild animal, the listening and loving patience. And the trust! Yesterday I had the privilege to ride him. He was the highlight of my year. His name is Noble.”
She also posted a gorgeous image of horses on the ranch that her husband took with the words, “Fierceness and gentleness all in one…”
At the event in Fort Worth, where the Yellowstone prequel 1883 is filmed (which stars country icons Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, along with Sam Elliott) Reilly didn’t ride, but both White and Smith competed in the ring.
The creator of Yellowstone is Texan Taylor Sheridan, an actor and filmmaker who wrote Oscar-nominated films Sicario and Hell or High Water. He’s also a cowboy and ranch owner with a passion for reining – a skill he demonstrates on Yellowstone where he plays a horse trainer. Sheridan is such a fan of reining that he also produces the reality competition series The Last Cowboy, which features finalists competing for a $1million purse.
As if that weren’t enough, Taylor is expanding the Yellowstone universe to include the iconic 6666 Ranch, an internationally renowned breeder of American Quarter Horses (which incidently a buyer group represented by Sheridan purchased in May 2021). The spin-off series is currently titled 6666, and the character that White plays on Yellowstone, Jimmy, has found himself on the famous ranch in season four, albeit not in the best of circumstances.
During the Fort Worth event, Reilly took to centre ring with a microphone to the sound of rapturous applause, which speaks to the popularity of the hit show as well as her fierceness as an authentic leading lady and horsewoman.
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