Exercise rider Orlando Cross is all business when he is out on the track riding Kentucky Derby contender State of Honor. He rides with strength and confidence. He wears a poker face traditional on exercise riders of his generation. He is easy to pick out with his striking red jacket, red gloves and a blue helmet covered with black stripes. In no time at all, they have galloped around the track at Churchill Downs and the photographers all press forward to capture a shot as they walk back to the barn. During the barrage of shutter clicks, Cross allows the tiniest of smiles to escape and he pats State of Honor on the neck.

I had heard that Cross trained the zebra in the movie “Racing Stripes,” but it seemed almost impolite to jump to that topic while we were sitting at Churchill Downs only two days before the Kentucky Derby.  Cross came from Puerto Rico in 1984 to Cleveland, Ohio. A friend had said that there were more opportunities to ride in the United States. He moved to California and was a professional jockey at Santa Anita Park, Del Mar and Los Alamitos. He said it was dangerous work. He also had to lose 5 to 6 pounds a day, which is one of the reasons why he quit being a jockey in 1990.

For a change of pace, he went to Ocala, Fla. and worked for horseman Carl Bowling breaking babies. He reminisced that he worked with City Zip. In the typical shorthand of many riders, he gave his highest compliment: “He was nice. He was nice to break.”

In 1996, Cross went to work for trainer Christophe Clement at Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Gulfstream Park. Cross’s eyes lit up. He smiled as he revealed that he galloped Forbidden Apple as he called him a “nice horse.” Forbidden Apple was a Grade 1 winner and was Florida’s Horse of the Year in 2001. He also galloped 1997 champion sprinter Smoke Glacken. He really enjoyed exercising Artie Schiller while working for Jimmy Jerkens at Belmont. But the Florida sunshine beckoned and he returned to Gulfstream again in 2001 and freelanced for trainer Scott Lake. 

He especially loves riding in California and Kentucky but when his mom needed him, he dropped everything and returned to Puerto Rico to be with her for three years. This speaks volumes about the quality of man that Cross is. Loyal and reliable. The kind of person that opens up to you and shares his life with you. The kind of man whose eyes struggle as he holds back his emotion when he tells you that his mother passed away last year.

He returned to California and worked for Neil Drysdale for six years. Then he took an opportunity to work in Kentucky to gallop for Roger Attfield; then he freelanced and worked for Wesley Ward. His résumé is a veritable who’s who of distinguished trainers in North America. Carefully and with incredible attention to details, Cross can outline his entire life listing each trainer he has worked with. 

Cross offers State of Honor words of encouragement. (Julie June Stewart photo)

In 2015, Cross came to Casse Racing. He relaxed and leaned back in his chair. He has been riding State of Honor for three months. I smiled when he gave State of Honor his highest praise, which is that he is a “nice horse,” but then he elaborated. “Whatever you ask him, he will do anything for you. He likes it more here. He was aggressive at Palm Meadows [Training Center] but here he is a different horse. He is relaxed.” Cross talks to him all the time. “I tell him to relax. So far so good. He is going good! The crowds do not bother him at all.” 

Now seemed the perfect time to ask how he ended up training a zebra? This is a fabulous story. His mother-in-law, Patty Rivers, owns a farm called Animals in Motion along with her husband, Tim. They are located in Citra, Fla. and specialize in domestic and exotic animal rentals for motion picture and the television industry. They ae well known for an extensive inventory of animals that includes “giraffes, camels, water buffalo, bison, kangaroo, elephants, monkeys, tortoises, kinkajou, snakes, parrots, ostriches, alligators and a warthog.” Their domestic animals include ponies, horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. Back then they had a zebra named Sam Quentin. The farm has provided animals for movies such as “The Jungle Book,” “Evan Almighty,” “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls” and numerous television shows and events. After the movie “Seabiscuit,” Warner Brothers contacted Rivers to ask if she had a zebra. She did but he wasn’t broke to ride. They asked her if she could find someone to break the zebra and she said that her son-in-law could.   

Zebras are well known for their tenacity and their reluctance to be trained. They are also unreliable. Cross said that it was tough and it took a long time. When he attempted to put on a halter, Sam tried to bite him and started kicking. Zebra’s do not whinny like horses. They have an odd little bark and a high pitched yip. Sam was very clear that he wasn’t going to have anything to do with Cross. After kicking, biting and bucking for two and a half months, there was a complete turn-around. It was the magic of apples and carrots! Sam started to be nice with Cross, so he started schooling him in a round pen.  Fifteen minutes to the left and then fifteen minutes to the right. 

Cross riding Sam Quentin. (Courtesy of Orlando Cross)

They went to a big field for jogging and galloping with a pony or a mule. It was hard to ride Sam. Zebras have no withers. Cross had to find a small enough girth for him. He taught Sam how to neck rein and then started to train him how to break from a starting gate. Sam’s role in the movie was to be a zebra who dreamed of being a racehorse, so he had to learn how to run with the Thoroughbreds. 

Cross and Tim Rivers trailered Sam to McKathan’s nearby Thoroughbred center for race training. There they would work Sam through a series of training exercises that mimicked actual Thoroughbred training and racing. Most importantly, they conditioned him with a jockey saddle on stretch runs alongside the Rice’s mule Molly (ridden by Patty Rivers) and a pony horse. 

Cross was supposed to ride Sam in the movie, but he was too heavy and too tall. The movie company tried to use movie tricks to make him look smaller but they couldn’t do it. Cross worked with the zebra for a year and a half. The movie was going to be being filmed in Africa, so Cross prepared him for the trip.  He brought Sam to the Ft. Lauderdale airport and schooled him there for a week. He took the time to get him acquainted with airplanes, jet noise, ramps and even suitcases. Then, he brought Sam back to Ocala for two more weeks before he left permanently for Africa as Sam could not return due to import/export regulations.     

Sam was one of several zebras that was used in the movie, which was released in 2005. They used four baby zebras and had seven adult zebras. Some of them were not even halter broke. Sam is the real star because he was the only one who could be ridden. The movie folks said that he had a very nice personality. Hayden Panettiere did most of her own riding in the film and said it was great to ride a zebra. “Some of the ones that we had were so sweet and so well trained, it was amazing.”

“Racing Stripes” is a much beloved movie of the horse racing set, but it is kind of a guilty pleasure that few admit unless they are with friends. When the movie was released, Cross went to the movie theater to see it. He told the box office that he broke the zebra and they let him in for free. 

Smiling eyes of Orlando Cross. (Julie June Stewart photo)

It’s time for Cross to head home from his morning routine of exercising horses for Casse Racing. He stands tall with his red Casse Racing hat and his red jacket. He gives me a thumbs up when I ask him how he feels about State of Honor and then offers his highest form of praise for Casse Racing: “They are nice people to work with.”

When you see an exercise rider in the morning, it is amazing to think of the thousands of horses they have ridden. Babies, contenders and champions. The riders move from track to track. They find their way to the track hours before most people even think about getting up in the morning. They are out there, rain or shine and whether it is hot or cold. Few people even know their names. But it’s important as they are the critical foundation of horse racing. There are so many stories on the backside. It’s worth listening to. It’s golden when you take the time to sit with a man and listen to how he once trained a zebra and now gallops a Kentucky Derby contender.