Published: October 24, 2009 07:56 pm      

Richmond girl gets small part in Disney movie “Secretariat”

When Rhyan Sprague, age 8, and her mother, Toni Willoughby Sprague, got the call to be extras in the upcoming Disney film, “Secretariat,” little did they know that Rhyan would be selected from among the crowd for a small part in the film.

The Richmond mother and daughter arrived on the set at Churchill Downs at 6 a.m. on Oct. 5. Next thing she knew, Rhyan recalls, “They pulled me out to have a part.”

Although her part is a non-speaking role of a little girl who takes a picture of the legendary horse, Rhyan said the experience was “just so fun.”

Getting that close to the chestnut horse that played the part of the 1973 Triple Crown winner was a thrill for Rhyan.

“He has three white stockings and the movie people were really happy to find a horse that looked so much like Secretariat,” she said.

Rhyan has worked in a dozen independent films and music videos, but this was her first experience on a big movie set. Rhyan’s big blue eyes sparkle as she tells of going inside to the hair and make up department where her strawberry blond hair was twisted into braids and her bangs were sprayed back by one of the make up artists.

“Then I went down to the set where they gave me an old-fashioned camera, one with a flash attachment. They said to take a picture of the horse and act like I was surprised when he looked at me,” she recalled.

Rhyan looks like a miniature version of her mother, Toni, who was in the background of the scene with another extra playing the part of the little girl’s dad. Rhyan’s real dad is Dennis Sprague, a sports psychologist, who stays away from movie sets but says he’s “very proud of Rhyan.”

The filming took two days with the scene shot on Monday and the close ups on Tuesday. When the scene was complete, “the director came over, knelt down and kissed my hand,” Rhyan said with a big smile.

One of the highlights was meeting the film’s star, Diane Lane. She came over and shook Rhyan’s hand. With a nod to Toni, the actress said, ”I take it you two are related.”

“She was so sweet — and very pretty,” Rhyan said of her meeting with Diane Lane.

Rhyan is a very busy little girl. She’s home-schooled and attends a home school co-op for science and physical education which is “very fun,” she said. She is a Girl Scout and is active at Anchor Baptist Church where she sings in the church choir and often sings for the congregation with her mother, Toni, and grandmother, Cora Lee Willoughby.

Rhyan has plans to be a singer and an actress when she grows up. In fact, she’s been writing songs since she was six years old and has just recorded one of her songs.

What happens next for the Richmond girl who played in a scene for the Disney film, “Secretariat?” Well, says Rhyan, when the film is released in 2010, “I just hope my scene stays in the movie.”