00:00I feel like I prepared my whole life almost, you know, a lot of these emotions I have felt before
00:08and so it was important for me to be physically and emotionally available to share those emotions
00:13again in very specific situations and I think I had a lot of support from my cast and from Pilar
00:19to reach those moments. We were so fortunate we had such a great horse wrangler team and
00:27horse trainers. Our horses were so well behaved, well trained and I felt just very safe and
00:33supported the entire time so I was just allowing, you know, the bond to naturally develop with me
00:38and the horse and there's a lot of unscripted moments where it was just literally me and the
00:41horse bonding. It was really beautiful. I would say that probably the emotional parts were more
00:50difficult and if I'm comparing to the riding just because there's a, you know, we were shooting
00:56very quickly and though I have a scene where I'm crying and the next scene I'm laughing and then
01:00the next scene I'm crying again and it was just this like emotional gymnastics but I think as an
01:06actor, as a young actor, I was like this you don't always get an opportunity to be pushed in this way
01:11so I was like really up for the challenge honestly. I would say that I learned how to
01:19step into my power as a Black woman just as Jolie was learning her Black heritage,
01:24myself was also learning my Black heritage and it was very affirming to be around
01:29intelligent multi-dimensional Black women and having that space. It was incredibly healing
01:35and I think one of the things that I've learned both as Kaya and Jolie is that our parents are
01:40human beings and they're doing the best they can with the tools they have and I think you'll see
01:44that in the show with between Jolie and her mom she really learns that her mom is human like her
01:50and feels like her. Amazon really was looking for an updated 21st century guise of the IP
02:01and because Black Beauty the book was written in the 19th century, you know, it's sort of like well
02:06what does it look like in 2024 and it felt like what was missing was Black people truthfully
02:16highlighting Black people in the equine world, Black cowboys, Black equestrians
02:22because it's a culture that really exists and has existed for a hundred years
02:28why not take the opportunity to uplift this community? Kaya, Sajen, Gina, Lisa, the totality
02:38of the cast really showed up and delivered. Everyone did horse training. All of the scenes
02:44that you see our family on horses that's actually them. Everyone connected with the story
02:53and as a creator coming to set and seeing your words come to fruition see your world come to
02:59fruition is magical on its own but when it's coupled with a cast it is as gracious as this one
03:05as kind and thoughtful as this one. While I took care of them they took care of me as well. I hope
03:12that people understand specifically that Black women should have the space to feel every feeling.
03:24You know, I fought really hard for Jolie to be complicated in the beginning.
03:29You know, she may grate you a little bit but she's being lied to. She's thrust from her home
03:37with no real explanation and I always came from a place of what is the authentic feeling
03:46that is deserving in this space and that goes for every character in the show specifically the Black
03:52women. I want to make sure that the audience recognizes that we are a whole people,
04:01three-dimensional and so I hope that people really resonate with the characters on this show.
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