Horse Illustrated Magazine

Do you know which of your favorite celebrities are fellow horse people? We’ve compiled a list of some of the most famous horse lovers, and a few might surprise you.

Madonna

The Singer Who Needs No Last Name offers solidarity to those of us who took up riding later in life. She didn’t start riding and owning horses until her 40s (taking lessons with world-class eventer William Fox-Pitt), and even then, it was a rocky start: In 2005, on her 47th birthday, Madonna was thrown off and broke multiple bones. Eventually she got back on and these days she can be spotted riding in the Hamptons. On one memorable occasion, she even rode on the streets of Manhattan with David Letterman.

Nicole Kidman

You may have seen Nicole Kidman riding in the movies Australia and Far and Away, but she also owns horses in real life. She enjoyed riding for the epic movie, Australia, so much that she bought a cattle ranch soon after filming.

Kaley Cuoco

You may know her as Penny from The Big Bang Theory, but in her real life, Cuoco is known for her passion for horses. She plasters Instagram with photos of her own beloved horses, and she competes in the jumper circuit, often entering under a pseudonym to hide from the crowds. It’s rumored she met her new love interest, professional Grand Prix rider Karl Cook, bonding over a shared love for the equine.

Richard Gere

Gere has a predilection for the Appaloosa breed, and he owns a ranch in upstate New York where he rides with his family. In an interview, he spoke fondly of his first horse, Drukpa, saying, “First horses are like your first girlfriend. You never forget.” He also has worked with a nonprofit organization called the Chief Joseph Foundation to help promote the Appaloosa breed and preserve the Nez Perce culture.

Toby Keith

Toby Keith’s greatest passion outside of singing and songwriting is horse racing. The country singer has been breeding and racing Thoroughbreds for over two decades; he credits his dad’s interest for inspiring his own. He and his friends race under the name Dream Walkin’ Farms, and it’s been reported he owns between 300 and 500 horses at any given time. He buys about 10 yearlings every year. Keith has said, “I try to promote the sport in any way I can…I’m willing to do what I can to support horse racing. It is something I am passionate about.”

Julia Roberts

The Pretty Woman barrel raced growing up in the South, and she currently owns a ranch in New Mexico where she rides for fun. In 2000, she traveled to Mongolia to film a documentary, The Wild Horses of Mongolia. In the documentary, she says she “has a great respect and appreciation for horses. I think they’re really smart animals.”

Brad Pitt

Talk about a child’s dream come true: In 2011, Brad Pitt purchased six Shetland ponies for his six children (and one horse for his soon-to-be-ex-wife, Angelina Jolie). The diminutive herd resides in the South of France, in the family’s Chateau Miraval estate.

Shania Twain

This country superstar is an avid horse lover. She owns at least six horses, including three Tennessee Walking horses and two Saddlebreds. She’s famous for including horses in her music videos and Las Vegas shows, recently singing atop one for a concert of 4,000. In 2012, she rode with a “stampede of forty horses” down the streets of Las Vegas to kick off her two-year stint there (though in reality, the “stampede” was a carefully controlled publicity stunt).

Jamie Foxx

Foxx did all of the riding and stunts on his own horse, Cheetah, in the award-winning 2012 movie Django Unchained. In fact, when accepting the role, he insisted the director, Quentin Tarantino, find a role for his horse. In the movie, Cheetah is known as “Tony,” and he has a central role. Though a skilled rider, Foxx has admitted riding bareback at 28 miles per hour during shoots was scary, and that he even feared for his life at one point.

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart is–of course–the consummate equine connoisseur. Housing them at her own immaculate stable, she owns five Friesian horses, three Sicilian donkeys (Rufus, Clive, and Billie), and one Fell pony. She acquired the Fell pony, Banchunch, for her two grandchildren to enjoy. She hires a full-time staff to assist in caring for all of these animals, and she offers instructional photos and videos on horse topics on her blog. From the look of things, her herd gets nothing but the best!