You can take the horse girl away from the barn, but they will still find a way to get on the back of these gentle giants.
We are in the thick of the Yellowstone spinoff, Marshals, featuring Luke Grimes. The plotline follows Kayce Dutton as he joins a newly formed Montana Marshals team to fight crimes in a rural landscape. While the show killed off fellow Yellowstone character Monica Dutton before the series premiered and already has Grimes moving on to a new love interest, that has not stopped the loyal fans of the hit Taylor Sheridan show from tuning in, leading to a season renewal after a stellar series premiere.
While fans are still championing Kayce’s plotline, they are also falling in love with other characters, like Belle Skinner, played by Arielle Kebbel.
Described as a jack-of-all-trades and a bada** cowgirl, Skinner is a steadfast U.S. Marshal who works closely with Luke Grime’s character, Kayce Dutton. Skinner comes from an ATF background and, like Dutton, has a family with some skeletons in the closet, making these two more alike than they seem.
For Kebbel, landing this role was a dream come true: as a former Yellowstone fan, she loved being on horseback while on camera, combining her passion for horses with her work.
Kebbel has previously opened up about this dream come true during a CBS Mornings interview:
“It is a dream come true. You know, I’m a horse girl through and through, not a trendy horse girl, a real horse girl. I started riding when I was five years old. The barn was my happy place, and my horse was my best friend. And honestly, never in a million years did I think I’d be able to combine my passion for acting with my passion and love for horses and the great outdoors.
So, every day on set it was a reminder of like, ‘Oh my god, this alignment is a true, true blessing.’”
For Kibbel, horses on set have been a highlight of her role, as she recently shared that shooting one of the early episodes of the show was one of the best days on set of her entire life. The actress sat down with Live with Kelly and Mark, revealing that the scene in which they chased down drug dealers on horseback was a highlight of this season’s shoot.
In the interview, Kelly and Mark were in awe that Kebbel confidently rode the horse down steep hills, seemingly un intimidated by the massive animal.
“Ugh, I loved it so much. It was one of the best days of filming in my entire life. It was awesome. And that horse’s name is TW… well his name is Tumbleweed, but we had a talk. I was like, ‘You’re more of a TW.'”
Kelly Ripa then asked Kebbel if she ever felt nervous or afraid of the horses while filming. To which Kebbel quickly said not one bit.
“No. No. They are my happy place.”
Kebbel then admits that she was more afraid of being around all the stunt actors while she was being a true bada** cowgirl doing all her own stunts.
“But I will say that day was the first time, probably ever… because I come around a mountain and then come down, and I was with a bunch of stunt guys. So I was on a stunt unit that whole day, so the main unit was shooting dialogue, and I was just surrounded by stunt guys on a mountain. And they’re kind of looking at me like ‘You said you could do it, right?’ And I’m like ‘Yeah!’
Ripa then chimes in that acting like a stunt guy was harder than actually doing the stunt itself.
“See? See!”
Kebbel exclaimed with excitement that her point got across. From one horse girl to another, I have nothing but respect for Kebbel for doing her own stunts. She’s the real deal, and this embodies Belle Skinner’s jack-of-all-trades personality.
I have really enjoyed Kebbel’s character thus far on the show and can’t wait to see how her character continues to develop.
