All the people behind the scenes agree (according to what I've read) that Ben Johnson was the best horseman on and offscreen. Second to that was Harry Carey Jr...he was riding as soon as he walked.
Ben Johnson gave lessons to Richard Boone and other Western stars. RB was a 7 out of 10 rider but Johnson was a 10 out of 10. He won rodeos and could rope and ride bulls and do everything cowboys do. If an actor needed to know how to do something and do it onscreen properly he took lessons from Ben Johnson.
At one point during his film career Johnson took off a year from acting and stunts and did a year on the rodeo circuit, but he found he just cleared his expenses. With that realisation he returned with his horse and trailer to Hollywood and more lucrative work.
Ben Johnson was the real thing. Stuart Whitman was a California boy and a boxer. While he was a very good athlete and looked good on a horse, he wasn't a great horseman.
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