Brass bands

We returned to Manchester to film more police horses, this time very much in action. Every year over 80 brass bands march up a small village high street to win a prize. It's starts at 2pm, but so does the spectators' drinking. We filmed the horses escorting the bands up the high street several times, including one that was in training called Paddy. He was scared by the band at first, and would bounce his head up and down. But the scary one was called Ben, halfway up the high street he started to circle and face the oncoming band! The street was really crowded with lots of children and old people everywhere, loosing control of a horse has disastrous consequences, so they have to be well trained.

When it started to go dark lots of drunk young guys kept approaching the sound recordist, Bob, and myself asking us what we were doing. I swear we were asked that a hundred times. One pub at the top of the street was heaving with young people outside on the pavement, and crowd control had to be put in place. The Police horses started round slowly pushing the drunk crowd along the street. Then it all kicked off. Somebody punched one horse called Steerforth in the mouth, so he was chased by the foot police and arrested for animal cruelty. But they chased him towards us, and all his friends and other police followed, throwing the guy to the floor. The police were shouting at people to move out the way, and I felt Abby, the producer/director and Bob grab me to move me out of the way of an oncoming horse that nearly ran me down! It was all a bit hairy.

The Police were brilliant though, they really protected us. By the end of the evening we were walking back following the horses up a dark street. But a horse's pace is faster than a man's, and they were soon very far away to hear us. Two kids started to hassle us and threaten to break my camera. It's worth about £40,000. I didn't react at all, it wasn't worth the risk. Abby ran to get the police's attention. For a couple of minutes Bob and I were being more and more isolated, until we heard the reassuring sound of horse hooves. They shouted at the kids and threw them into the bushes, warning them they could be arrested. I filmed the scene in my revenge.