6 FOCUS - OCTOBER 2017 ANTIQUES, UNIQUES, DÉCOR & MORE COACH HOUSE STUDIO IT’S A DESTINATION SHOPPING LOCATION! 605 Regional Road 21, Port Perry 905.982.2705 www.coachhousestudio.ca Come shop to decorate your home beautifully for Thanksgiving and Christmas! TICO #4577532 MC 905-985-2268 virginia.frew@marlintravel.ca Want to know more about river cruising? LUXURY CRUISES & TOURS Join us .... for a presentation to be held on RSVP to: THURSDAY OCTOBER 5, 1 P.M. Sunnybrae Golf & Country Club their trailers, “their home away from home.” Leanne says they seem to enjoy their days full of attention. The same goes for the other television animals she wrangles. “They are all very sociable.” As for the human stars, “Everyone is very friendly.” Being part of the crew, Leahann eats meals with the cast. It’s all about small talk. It’s not about playing the fan and asking for autographs. However, when she met guest star William Shatner she admits she was star struck. “That was awesome,” she said. Both Shatner and Leahann own horses, giving them something in common. “He was very interested in the horses on set,” she recalled. Horse wranglers put in long, 12 hour days, said Leahann, who needs to get up at 4 a.m. to be at the farm by 5 a.m.to get to the location by the 6:30 or 7 a.m. call time. Much of the filming is done in Toronto, Hamilton, Guelph, Cambridge, or other places with historic downtowns, since the era of the show is the turn of the 20th century. Passersby are curious to see what’s going on. “They seem to be fascinated by the horses and car- riages,” said Leahann. “It’s not something you see every day at Queen’s Park in Toronto.” She has also worked as a wrangler for other great Canadian productions, including The Road to Avonlea and Anne of Green Gables. Serving as a bunny wrangler for the Canadian Tire Christmas commercial kept Leahann hopping. She put tiny pieces of apple in the artificial snow to try to keep the rabbits in the right area of the indoor set. But they kept hopping off and she had to corral them back. “It was hilarious,” she said. After hours of filming, there was a 15 second shot in this cute commercial, show- ing a bunny sniffing a present. So if you take your vehicle into Mark Willes Automotive in Port Perry and Leahann isn’t behind the counter to greet you, chances are she’s busy at her other job, wrangling some critters. By Lynn Campbell, Focus on Scugog Earl Cochrane with horses Pat (our cover boy) and Rocket on a set during a Christmas episode. Leahann Willes (continued from page 4)