Colby Harrison, 12, was cast as the young Zech MacIvey for the film version of "A Land Remembered." [Photo by Jaime Green]

The first time he read, “A Land Remembered,” 12-year-old Colby Harrison wished there was a movie or TV version of the story. Now he’s part of making that wish come true.

Colby, whose family has been in the ranching business for six generations, plays the young Zech MacIvey in the film version of “A Land Remembered.” Two, four-episode seasons of the story are planned. They just finished filming the second episode of the first season.

Colby had no interest in acting until friends found out about the casting call for “A Land Remembered” and encouraged him to audition. “My friends said, ‘this is perfect for you,’ so I put in a video and they ended up liking me.”

Colby was one of the boys invited to compete in a “rodeo” event in November.

“They called it a rodeo,” Colby explained, explaining the event did not feature traditional rodeo competitions. “They had shooting, cracking a whip, herding cattle and riding.

“We weren’t allowed to bring our own horses, because there was a virus going around,” he explained. So the contestants rode horses provided at the arena.

“They brought me back to final 40, and we read lines and read lines and read lines, and they finally picked me,” he said.

A short time later, Colby was starting acting lessons. He said once a week, an acting coach came to the family’s home in Fort Green (an unincorporated community in Hardee County with a 2020 Census population of 78.)  His parents also took him to Sarasota for more lessons.

Colby was already familiar with Patrick Smith’s story of the MacIvey family.

“About two years ago, we had a really good friend say, ‘I know you like to read, and I think you would like this book.’ It took me about two weeks to read the book. I read the adult version, and I loved it,” he explained.

“I liked the absolute story of it,” said Colby. “It’s old Florida. It tells what I do every day of my life – raise cattle, ride horses. It’s just a good book overall.  Someone who doesn’t know about old Florida would still like the book."

"A Land Remembered" tells the story of a family of Florida settlers. [Photo by Jaime Green]

Colby naturally identified with the character of young Zech in the book. “As Zech was a young boy, he was always messing with the cows, riding a horse, hunting and fishing. I wished I was Zech sometimes,” he added.

“The night after I got done reading it, Mr. Todd (film maker Todd Wiseman Jr.) hadn’t started this whole production yet. I googled ‘is there A Land Remembered movie?' There wasn’t. I said 'dang, there needs to be one'.”

Colby said the filming so far has been a lot of fun. His younger sister often accompanied him to the set. “She’s really supportive. She’s the best sister I could have.”

Colby is looking forward to the horse race scene, which will be in the fourth episode of the first season.

Wiseman said they haven’t yet cast Ishmael, the Marshtackie horse Zech rides in that race.

According to Horse Illustrated, “Florida Cracker Horses (called a Marshtackie in Smith’s book)  are small riding horses, standing 13.2-15 hands and weighing 800-900 pounds. They have wide foreheads and finely made faces, with straight or slightly roman noses. The Florida Cracker descends from Spanish horses such as the Barb and the Spanish Jennet that arrived in the southern United States in the 1500s. Although it is genetically similar to the Mustang, Paso Fino and other modern Spanish breeds, the Florida Cracker’s geological isolation meant that the horses evolved to have its own distinctive features.”

“Colby has already ridden quite a lot,” Wiseman explained. “We have some epic scenes of Colby riding.”

Wisemen said they are working with a livestock wrangler to ensure the animals in the film accurately match those in the book.

He said there are some contenders for the role of Zech’s Cracker horse. “Colby and his family will have the final say,” he added.

Colby is looking forward to meeting the Cracker Horses and helping to choose the one he will ride in the film. "Horses have different personalities," he said.

Colby said he is enjoying playing Zech, but doesn’t plan to pursue an acting career. His dream is to be a veterinarian, specializing in treating horses and cattle. He also wants to continue to compete in calf roping at rodeos. “I could be a vet and still calf rope,” he explained. He could even do both at the same events, as the big rodeos need to have vets on site in case an animal is injured.

“If I did do more acting, I’d have to be super, duper picky choosy,” said Zech. “It would have to be something about ranching and the cowboy way of life.”

He said his parents are supportive of his acting in “A Land Remembered.”

“They like what this movie is really about,” he said. “They love the story behind it.”

Like many young actors, Colby is currently home-schooled. He will be in the seventh grade next year.

He’s a member of the Heart of Hardee 4-H Club, and has raised pigs and chickens as 4-H projects.

Colby competes in Little Wranglers Junior Rodeo in the Breakaway Roping, Tie Down, Goat Tying and Ribbon Roping events.

“Me and my sister share a horse, and I have another horse that is my main rodeo horse,” he explained. GoGo and Nitro are American Quarter Horses. Colby said he rides Gogo for Tie Down and Breakaway events, and Nitro for Goat Tying and to practice roping. His sister also competes in barrel racing and roping.

“Gogo came from a friend down the road, and they named her Gogo because she was really, really fast,” Colby said. “Nitro, we got him a couple weeks ago, and he was just Nitro – now we have a bunch of horses that are named fast.”

Colby said the family’s ranch has about 300 cattle, including the calves and the bulls. Most are Brangus. “They have some Cracker in them,” he explained. “We just brought in some Beefmaster Bulls to get some hardier cattle.”

While acting has taken up some of his time this year, “I still rodeo when I can,” said Colby. He’s looking forward to going to a national rodeo competition in Oklahoma later this month.

His message to everyone in the rodeo community: “Thank you for your support, and I hope to see you in Oklahoma!”