WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE HORSE MOVIE?

The first ever film festival held just to honor movies that feature horses in our lives, both animated and with live actors and horses, was held last weekend, Nov. 21st and 22nd. It was called the Equus Film Festival and was held in New York City using three different screens. I sure wish I could  have been there!

Three of the films, "The Fork in the Road", "The Equestrian", and "Valiant" focus on Dressage. The first, "The Fork in the Road" was made to promote Para Dressage and the determination of injured eventer Gigi McIntosh as she strives to return to riding and competing now in dressage.

"The Equestrian" examines how the bond of trust between a horse and rider can be destroyed and rebuilt. See the trailer here:

http://youtu.be/JFsKtz3b54I

The third, "Valiant" is about a completely blind dressage horse. That is especially poignant for me as my wonderful Kit that I have written about in previous posts was just determined to have developed total blindness in his left eye.

The Horsechannel.com made a listing of their 30 favorite horse movies. It is kind of fun to look at the list and see which ones you have seen. Click here for the list:

http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-fun/30-best-horse-movies.aspx

Now, pretend I am a movie critic! Here goes!

My comparison of National Velvet and International Velvet!

These two films were made thirty-four years apart and they are a classic example of how Hollywood has changed in that time. National Velvet was released in 1944. It starred young Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney and Angela Lansbury, to name a few. All three went on to have illustrious film carriers, as you know. The story is wholesome and touching. The filming in the English country side was beautiful. But I was impressed with the depiction of Velvet's family. The mother had given up fame as a swimmer to raise her children. Both she and her husband, though not wealthy, worked hard to take care of their family. Mom was at home for her kids. I loved that prayers were said at every meal. 

Now, move forward (or perhaps backward) thirty-four years! Velvet is now a grown woman shacked up with her boyfriend who is, for some undisclosed reason, afraid of marriage and she puts up with it. Their niece, played poorly by Tatum O'Neil, comes to stay with them when her parents are killed. No prayers, no strong family. The only sacrifice made is when the author live-in (played by Christoper Plummer) starts writing trashy novels to supplement their income to pay for Sarah Brown's riding lessons. It is fun to note that the eventing competition in the U.S. was filmed with Pony Club Riders! See my post about Pony Club from August 2, 2014. 

That being said, for an old eventer like myself, the horse scenes were great! (Except on the airplane when one of the competition horses being flown over the pond has to be shot! That made me cry!)) And the value of horses as the healing mechanism for a grieving girl is not only true to life but very touching.  

So, what was your favorite horse movie? 

And don't you think Behind the Mist, Mists of Darkness and The Rising Mist would make great movies???

U.S. PONY CLUBS BUILD HORSEMEN AND WOMEN (AND FUTURE UNICORN RIDERS!)

I was a horse person born to non-horse parents. While they didn't understand my obsession (for that is what is was and still is!) they did everything they could to support me. This included two riding lessons a week. In those days, group lessons were $2 each. Now, that may not sound like much to you but, to my parents, it was a big sacrifice. As I became more and more accomplished as a rider, my teacher, Johnny Johnson at Highlands Hunt Club in Portland, Oregon (it isn't there anymore) started "encouraging" my parents to get me my own horse. This was something they could not afford so for a year, all of 7th grade, they pulled me out of riding.

By 8th grade, God intervened and provide me with a young, untrained, beautiful dapple-gray Arabian. (see my very first post!) I trained Tai and he took care of me. But my greatest resource for my training and horse care knowledge came from my involvement in Lake Oswego Pony Club. Every Saturday morning, I rode across Lake Oswego, something you probably couldn't do today, and rode with Pony Club. In the summers we would compete as a team at the Pony Club Rallies and take our tests to move up the levels. We competed over 4 days against teams from Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The first day we had to take a written test on horse knowledge. The second day we competed in Dressage. The third day we competed over the cross-country course. The fourth day we competed in Stadium Jumping. Each day, we were also judged on horsemanship by "secret" judges that watched us care for the horses. I loved those rallies! And I learned so much! By the time I graduated from High School, I had received my "B" rating. At that point, I went off to college and didn't have time to get my "A." But Pony Club never left me and it is because of my exposure to dressage in Pony Club that I am competing in it today!

Since I was supporting my horse myself, I didn't have money for a trainer. If it hadn't been for Pony Club, I would have been lost. At that time, all of the coaches donated their time to us. It was so wonderful.

I loved Pony Club so much that I included a character in my book,"Mists of Darkness,"

that was a Pony Club member! She gets injured when one of the evil unicorn Hasbadana's mists of darkness descends upon the Rolex Three-Day Event. She is healed by Nick and his unicorn, Lazari.

Pony Club's Values are:
Horsemanship with respect to healthcare, nutrition, stable management, handling and riding a mount safely, correctly and with confidence.
Organized teamwork including cooperation, communication, responsibility, leadership, mentoring, teaching and fostering a supportive yet competitive environment.
Respect of the horse and self through horsemanship; for land through land conservation; and for others through service and teamwork.
Service by providing an opportunity for members, parents and others to support the pony club locally, regionally and nationally through volunteerism.
Education at an individual pace to achieve personal goals and expand knowledge through teaching others.

U.S Pony Club wrote a blog post about my writing. You can read it here: http://blog.ponyclub.org/2014/05/30/665/

To learn more about Pony Club or to find a Pony Club in your area go to their website: http://www.ponyclub.org/

Need a fun book to read? Read The Mist Trilogy: Behind the Mist, Mists of Darkness and the soon-to-be-released The Rising Mist. You can get them on the website, amazon or wherever books are sold. www.behindthemist.com