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It's not many local people who can boast they've worked with movie stars.

But Crow's Nest horse trainer Peter Gould can.

He taught Hugh Jackman to ride a horse.

For the past 30 years, he's been breeding and training quarter-horses and riders on his property just over 40 kilometres outside of Toowoomba.

But six years ago, he snared the job of training the horses and actors for a movie being filmed in Thailand.

This soon led to more film opportunities - most recently a seven month stint on the set of Baz Luhrman's Australia, teaching actors Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and David Wenham to ride as though they'd been in the saddle all their lives.

"It was a long time off the farm, but quite exciting," he said.

While all the actors were willing and diligent students, Hugh Jackman seemed to have a natural affinity for horses and soon developed a passion for riding which started with pre-production training around Sydney and continued on location in Bowen and Kununurra.

"Hugh's just got such good balance, being a dancer," Peter said.

"He just took to it. He loved the horse crew. Any chance he could, he'd be out riding a horse."

His lessons with Nicole Kidman, though, came with a different set of challenges in the form of a mob of paparazzi photographers that virtually dogged her every move.

"We did most of our training in Fox Studios in Sydney, but sometimes it was good to get out and ride in Centennial Park," he said.

"But I didn't realise the paparazzi would be following us. She had a good security guard .. but he was on foot .. so he had a hard time keeping up with us."

Peter fondly remembers the party Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman threw for the cast and crew at a pub in Bowen that Nicole worried no-one would come to.

"But with free food, free grog, and lovely company, it was great," he said.

"We had Keith Urban performing for us. He said it was his first pub do for ten years. Apparently he was a bit nervous too."

Although Peter's reputation now means he's almost guaranteed future movie work, it doesn't come around all that often.

But he's adamant he's just as happy teaching regular customers the joy of riding in what he calls a beautiful corner of Queensland.

"It's just beautiful rolling hills and such a variety of country," he said.

"I started off just doing riding lessons, but then people loved the scenery so much that I thought it would be a great place for trail riding."