There’s a new showman on the Friesian exhibition circuit.
The 6 year old stallion Phantom’s Music Of The Knight made his parade debut in April of this year. And what a debut it was. Strutting his stuff in the preamble to the Horseman’s Rodeo in Norco, “Musie” and his rider and under-saddle trainer Francisco Flores wowed the crowd and the judges. The duo won the Equestrian Sweepstakes Trophy over 45 entries, then turned around the next week for Burbank On Parade to take top honors against 33 contestants in the Best Use of Parade Theme category.
In both parades, Francisco and Musie embodied the theme of “saluting our heroes,” with Francisco decked out in a handsome Armed Forces uniform. That stirring component was enhanced by a distinct air of familiarity about the new equine kid on the Friesian block. That could be the charismatic echoes of Musie’s uncle, the late Phantom Of The Opera.

Imported from Holland in 1989, when there were only an estimated 350 Friesians in the States, Phantom quickly became an ambassador for his breed. (He was featured on the cover of this magazine in October of 1999.) Phantom passed away in 2002 after leaving a legacy in parades, competitions, exhibitions, TV, music videos and film. Phantom Of The Opera’s sister, Donna S, is Musie’s mother.
Phantom was imported and owned by Davida Oberman and singer Smokey Robinson. Along with her son Dino Johnson, Davida is the proud owner of Musie. The longtime horsewoman imported Musie when he was five months old and began his trick training right away at her home stable in Burbank’s Rancho district.
Musie was easy and fun to train, Davida reports. She knew he had star power immediately. “His mind was a sponge waiting for new adventures.” He quickly understood the hand signal trick cues she taught him, an important skill for equine movie stars. “Every time Musie did a trick, I took advantage of his body language and willingness to learn and made it into so much fun and a game for him,” Davida explains of the training process. “I turned it into a positive, great moment so he always wanted to do more.” Light taps on his back legs prompted dancing, Davida says, and cheering brought out his showman’s nature.
She also started putting words to the tricks. “I had a wood pedestal and immediately I asked him to jump up on it with his front feet and he responded with delight,” his proud owner relays. “He dances, waves, bows, shakes your hand and does the Spanish walk, a war maneuver. He totally enjoys entertaining and loves to amuse the audience with his antics. He even carries the bucket for me!”
A Star In Any Setting
Musie doesn’t need a big crowd to perform. “When Musie sees people, whether he is under saddle or at liberty, he will do all of his tricks for you,” laughs Davida, adding that Musie doubles as her own stand-up comic. His antics routinely brighten the faces of all who see him.
The 1985 movie LadyHawke turned Davida from typical horsewoman, in this case a dressage devotee, to Friesian fanatic. “I’d been training dressage with Hilda Gurney for 11 years before I saw that movie,” she recounts. “But when I saw that horse, I said, ‘Man, that is one gorgeous horse!’ His neck was set up like a swan’s.” As a dressage rider, she enjoyed various breeds over the years and racked up competitive accomplishments highlighted by a Fourth Level Los Angeles show championship aboard a Polish Trakehner.
With Musie’s under-saddle training in mind, Davida had had her eye on Francisco Flores for a few years as he trained other youngsters. “We both had the same beliefs in how to train with patience in allowing the horse to give the right answer,” she explains. “We both believe that to really train a horse is truly a work of art.
“Each individual horse has to be trained to his own personality and it has to be the horse’s decision to choose the right answer. You just wait for them to choose the correct step so they never think that they have failed,” continues Davida of her and Francisco’s shared philosophy. “The horses themselves need to step up to the plate and go the next level so there is no fear, just respect and a willingness to continue and learn so it always ends on a positive note.
“Every horse is different,” she concludes. “Some are slow to choose, some are quite quick in their response. You cannot push a horse to go further than what their capabilities are.”
Francisco agrees that Musie is unusually talented and a quick study. He describes Davida’s years of patient ground training and long lining as excellent preparation for under-saddle work. The third time Francisco was on Musie’s back, they went up into the hills and across bridges.
Davida describes Francisco as a trainer who earns the respect of both owners and their horses. “I did a lot of riding and showing with Phantom Of The Opera. My fun now with Musie is putting the tricks on him and watching Francisco ride him. He tells me he’s never had the opportunity to ride a horse like this.”
In addition to this parade and exhibition work, Musie is making hay on the show circuit with Davida in the irons. At their competitive debut in March, the pair entered three classes at the Spring Kick Off Classic and won them all.
Memorial Day of this year brought about one of Davida’s most proud moments as she watched Musie and Francisco represent American war heroes during flag ceremonies at the Memorial Day Classic Horse Show at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. “To see this duo just gave all of us pride to know the freedom that we do have,” she relays.
At presstime, the pair were preparing for what they intended to be an equally moving performance during flag ceremonies at the Cool August Nights dressage competition in Burbank. Phantom’s Music Of The Knight is slated to appear in several upcoming parades, exhibitions and shows. The first of those is the Labor Day Parade in Norco, where the young equine star will fulfill the first of what will likely be many requests for return engagements.