In “The Cowboy and the Queen,” filmmaker Andrea Nevins chronicles the work of Monty Roberts, a California-based horse trainer whose nonviolent training techniques caught the eye of the late monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The documentary examines how the Queen endorsed Roberts’ controversial compassionate horse training methods in 1989, which helped him transform horse training standards worldwide.
The 84-minute film made its world premiere at DOC NYC last year. Greenwich Entertainment will release the doc in select theaters on Sept. 6.
Nevins initially set out to make a documentary about the Queen and her work breeding her famous brood of Corgis – short-legged herding dogs who originated in Wales. While she was on the throne the Queen owned an estimated 30 corgis and dorgis.
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“I thought, if I could interview some of the women who helped her breed her illustrious brood, it would be an interesting way to look at this one area where the very dutiful Queen Elizabeth II might have both fun and a particular kind of agency in her most circumscribed life,” says Nevins.
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But the director quickly discovered that nearly all of the late Queen’s breeders and Corgi specialists had died. During this research phase of the project in 2020, Nevins happened upon Roberts, an 85-year-old cowboy from California who spent over 30 years advising the Queen on her legendary horse collection.
“After I spent a day interviewing Monty during COVID, and he told me the story of how he and Queen Elizabeth became friends, I decided this was the documentary I wanted to make,” says Nevins. “The way he was able to weave his story of growing up in California during World War II and the Queen’s, both of them vowing to search for a way to turn the trauma they experienced during the war into a better, gentler way to treat not only horses but humans as well, (made me) utterly smitten. Their friendship and their mutual goals captured my imagination.”
In the film, Nevins uses archival footage, including old films and photographs that Roberts kept in his garage and in a large storage container on his ranch, to tell the story of the unlikely friendship.
“We were able to find some rich and beautiful images from throughout the Queen’s 96-year life and her 70-year reign, and some never-before-seen footage of Monty with the Queen working with the Queen’s untrained horses,” says Nevins. “When I found that footage, that was it. I was determined to make this film.”
In May, “The Cowboy and the Queen” received a nomination for the Humanitas Prize in the documentary category and was an official selection at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the Berkshire International Film Festival and the Boulder International Film Festival.
The film is the third docu that MasterClass will stream this year. In July, the online learning platform launched its first limited, three-part documentary series, including “The Cowboy and the Queen,” JR’s “Tehachapi” and Bess Kargman’s “Diane Warren: Relentless.”
“The Cowboy and the Queen” will begin streaming on Masterclass on Sept. 12.
Watch an exclusive clip from the doc here:
