APHA awards a special registration

DreamWorks' "Rain" becomes official American Paint Horse

FORT WORTH, Texas-"Rain," the animated co-star in the popular movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, became an "official" Paint Horse recently, when the American Paint Horse Association (APHA) awarded her an honorary registration certificate.

The American Paint Horse Association issued its first honorary certificate to "Rain," the animated Paint Horse star in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Hirez JPEG (480 kb) Hirez TIFF (5.33 mb)

Rain is the first animated horse to receive a registration certificate from APHA, which has registered more than 670,000 American Paint Horses to date. About 70 percent of those horses have been registered in the past 10 years, making the American Paint Horse one of the fastest-growing horse breeds in the world.

APHA chose to honor Rain with the certificate in recognition of the widespread exposure the Paint Horse receives in the film, which generated more than $65 million in gross box office sales in its first four weeks.

"Although she may be only an animated version of a horse, in her own way, Rain has exemplified the breed standards people have come to recognize in a Paint Horse," said APHA Executive Secretary Jim Kelley.

"Not only is she beautiful, but she is versatile, agile, strong and intelligent-just like real American Paint Horses."

Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook, who co-directed the movie for DreamWorks Pictures, said they considered APHA's registration of Rain a tribute not only to the horse but to the entire movie production.

"APHA has helped legitimize the film by honoring Rain this way," said Asbury.

Cook added, "We needed to find a special horse to portray Rain in the movie. And a Paint Horse was the most perfect choice because of what they embody."

Over 450 animators worked for four years on the movie, which broke new ground in vividly portraying one of the hardest creatures to animate-the horse. Along with looking to live horses to help illustrate the movie, DreamWorks also used specialists in horse physiology and behavior to make the horses realistic.

One copy of the honorary certificate will be displayed at DreamWorks' offices in Glendale, Calif., while another will be a part of the APHA's Heritage Center at the association's headquarters in Fort Worth. The Heritage Center is under development and will include artifacts, memorabilia, literature and artwork about the breed.

More information about APHA and American Paint Horses
Established in 1962, APHA serves more than 100,000 members, who are located in 36 nations and in every U.S. state. American Paint Horses have been registered from 43 nations around the globe.

For more information about the American Paint Horse and APHA, visit www.apha.com, or call (817) 834-2742, extension 788.

More information about DreamWorks SKG
DreamWorks SKG was formed in October, 1994, by its three principal partners-Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen-to produce live-action motion pictures; animated feature films; network and cable television programming; home video entertainment; records; books; toys; and consumer products.