Music Video Stars S-Bred Participants

A recently released music video prominently features a harness racing theme, containing footage shot on a breeding farm and starring a current participant along with her retired Standardbred.

The video for the song Horseshoe Woman by Caracol was set to be shot at Hippodrome 3R. Carole Facal is the singer-songwriter who professionally performs as Caracol, and she told Trot Insider that she was looking for a horse racing theme to accompany her latest single.

"Horseshoe Woman is a song about a man who lost his good fortune. He is looking for the Horseshoe Woman, a symbol of good luck, to bring it back," Facal said via email from Europe. "We had the idea of going to Hippodrome 3R to find female racers to represent that persona. That's where I met Anne-Marie by pure coincidence."

Anne-Marie Veilleux, daughter of Standardbred Canada director Richard Veilleux, was working for 3R as the outrider when she was approached to appear in the video. The horse she used as the outrider was retired Standardbred racehorse Wedding Crasher.

"They approached me, as I was dressed like an outrider or jockey with the helmet and everything...they asked me if I was doing horseback riding and what I was doing here, and told me they were here to do a music video but this [the racetrack setting] wasn't what they were looking for."

Veilleux, of St-Hugues Que., told Facal and her videographer that she had access to a farm -- Ferme Drummond, owned by Veilleux's grand-father Alain -- and the crew felt that setting would be ideal. On the Saturday of Thankgiving weekend, the crew arrived to shoot.

"My parts took about seven hours...changing costumes, preparing the horse. They took a lot of shots to make sure they had everything," Veilleux, 17, told Trot Insider.

Facal was thoroughly impressed and pleased with the setting and the participants.

"I was amazed at how professional [Anne-Marie] acted -- even though she had never done it before -- and her whole family was so helpful. We had never done an animal videoshoot before, it was a great experience."

Also pleased and impressed was Veilleux with her Standardbred, Given the seven hours of shooting, his temperament was exemplary.

"At the beginning he was fine but near the end he was getting a bit tired," said Veilleux. "At some moments when they were shooting, I was on the horse and nobody was holding him so I was happy that he was fine not moving a lot!"

After the footage was assembled to create the final video to accompany the single, everyone involved gave the video a glowing report.

"I talked to the group shortly after and they were very happy with their day. Everything they wanted in the video, they found it at the farm," noted Veilleux. "I talked to them again when the video came out and they were so happy because the video was exactly what they thought about at the beginning, and they only got good feedback from their people."

Facal added that the story behind how the video came about reflected the fortuitous nature of the song, making it even more meaningful.

"We are very happy with the result, the images are beautiful and they create a magical vibe mixed with the live footage of the band," said the singer. "The clip was created entirely by luck and that's why it will always be special for me."

Veilleux wasn't familiar with the group prior to the video but is now a fan.

"I was happy to see Quebecers making great music and involving local people in their projects."

Caracol recently embarked on a tour of Europe, starting this past Wednesday in Austria with future dates in France, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.