Luke Macfarlane had never been on a horse in his life before filming My Christmas Cowboy, yet Amy Acker says he looked as if he had spent years in the saddle. The actor was cast in a film that required him to hop on a horse and lasso a Christmas tree, and by the end of production a wrangler had handed him the lasso to keep.
That is the kind of detail that turns a holiday movie into a search-worthy behind-the-scenes story, especially when the person telling it is Acker, who co-wrote the film and called Macfarlane’s first ride “insane.” She said he had zero fear, got right up there and was great at it, while also noting that the cowboys on set seemed a little smitten with him too.
Macfarlane backed up the surprise with his own version of the story. He said, “I had never been on a horse in my entire life,” and added, “Never, ever, and it’s very embarrassing.” He also said the lasso now lives in his basement, after joking that he did not check a bag and briefly worried about what airport security might think if it turned up in his carry-on.
The contrast is what makes the moment stick. Macfarlane says he came to the film with no horse-riding experience at all, while Acker says he rode naturally and without hesitation from the start. That gap matters because it is not just about one actor learning a stunt; it is about how quickly a first-timer can disappear into a role when the scene demands it.
My Christmas Cowboy is the latest film in Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas, and the story centers on a Hollywood star returning to his native Texas and reconnecting with his roots. Acker, a Dallas native, said she had plenty of chances to ride horses growing up, which only makes Macfarlane’s comfort on horseback stand out more. For now, the only thing left from the production is the lasso in his basement — and a small proof that a first ride can look like second nature when the camera is rolling.
