SUBTLE STAR POWER: DENNIS MOORE

The saying goes, “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”, and boy are we some of the very lucky few who get to live that mantra – not only do we get to make beautiful clothes for beautiful people, we get to do it with our mama and sisters. Also in that camp is Dennis Moore, the kind and creative visionary behind the Buggy Barn in Blanco, Texas.

You might remember Dennis and the Buggy Barn from catalogs, collections, and Double Dose articles past – he and his curated collection of wagons, as well as the adjoining Old West town he created in Blanco, helped us tell the story of Cody, of Walker, and now of Untamed Territory. And as it turns out, Dennis is no stranger to scene-setting and storytelling – on the small and silver screens – lending props and taking part in the production of shows like Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, True Grit, Underground, and the upcoming Martin Scorsese film starring Leo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon. Oh yeah, and that one show…

“I was driving the wagon for about four months of filming 1883,” shared Dennis. “I have worked on a couple other shows, so a lot of these wranglers know that I have the horses and wagons, so they normally contact me whenever they need something. All I furnished to begin with was my two horses, Tina and Trina, and then a few weeks later, I think it was Carla [Curry] who called me, and we sent three wagons up there for a camp scene.”

In no time, he was just a full-on part of the crew. If you’ve seen the show, you’ve definitely seen Dennis! (And if you haven’t seen the show, what are you even doing?)

“I was on one of the first scenes on the wagon train when it started, and I stayed with it until the end of the show, so I was in several scenes,” he said. “One was right when we were looking at the river crossing; Faith Hill was in front of me, and I was in the wagon right behind her, so I was very visible there, and two or three other places.”

While he wasn’t on a real westward bound wagon trail, he did traverse a lot of Texas for the show.

“They started in Fort Worth for the town scenes, but I didn’t go up there until they were ready to start the wagon train,” he said. “We started at Taylor Sheridan’s ranch, the Silverado, at Weatherford, and then we went to an adjoining ranch. Then we went to Strong, Texas, to the 101 Ranch. Then up to Borger, in the Texas Panhandle, part of the 6666 is up there, Dixon Creek. That’s where we had the tornado scenes; we practiced with big old fans taking the wagons in front of that and getting the horses acclimatized to that. Lot of prep work before we went out there for the actual tornado scene, getting the horses ready. And then I was on it until they went to Montana, and I could’ve gone up there with them, but I’d been gone about nine months – five months working on Killers of the Flower Moon and then 1883 for about four months – and I decided I needed to go home for a little bit. And then when they went back to Guthrie, Texas, the headquarters of the 6666, I went back up and finished the show with them.”

Needless to say, and enviable experience any way you slice it, but of course, the one thing we’re all dying to know – what were the actors like?!

“I’ve been blessed to be able to work with some very nice people,” he began, bashfully. “Sam Elliott, I’d almost work for nothing to be able to work with him, he’s such a nice guy. You can sit and talk to him just like we’re sittin’ and talking right now – no big head or nothing. He said he was blessed to be around and work with other great actors; I think he’s one of the best, but he’d take no credit for it. Great guy, fun to work with – all the crew was. Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, they were fun – a little more distant than what Sam was, but they were still friendly and everything.”

We certainly can’t compare to that kind of star status, but he was gracious to also have a cameo in our catalog for Untamed Territory.

“Anytime you’ve got a wagon and a horse, I’m happy to be there!” Dennis said. “It was a lot of fun out there. Carla’s such a sweet lady, she’s always there. I enjoyed it, y’all are one of the most enjoyable shoots that we do. I was driving the Dutton Wagon, I believe; the one that Faith Hill drives, they call the Dutton Wagon. It was neat to have that here, we had a lot of people stop by here to see it and take pictures by it.”

Of course, anything with Sheridan-franchise fame is going to be an attraction, but that’s just one of more than 250 wagons, buggies, and sleighs Dennis has on display.

“We’ve got one of the largest collections in the nation as far as I know,” he said. “Not the largest, but up there close to it. You know what’s amazing, 95% of them I can hook up to right now and go. You’ve got some back to the 1850s – 170 or 150 years old, and they’re just as sound now as when they were built. The craftsmanship and the workmanship that they put into them is just amazing. We’ve got a nice collection and enjoy people coming by to see them.”

But don’t be mistaken, that doesn’t mean Dennis is satisfied.

“We just acquired 50-something from a museum in Virginia, so we’re adding on and trying to relocate and move stuff around to make room for all those,” Dennis said. “Everything’s a work in progress. Somebody asked me last week, ‘When are you gonna be finished?’ and I said, ‘Never.’ You know, I get one project finished and I start on another one. I’ve been blessed to do what I do. I’ve always got something to do and a reason to get up in the morning. If you enjoy what you do, it’s not really work.”