Horse Inspiration? Maybe a Movie
Some of my greatest horsey inspiration comes directly from fiction. The great lines from my all-time favorite books and movies pop into my head all the time when I'm with my horses and I think have taught me to appreciate them on some new and different levels. Here is a list of my top eight in case anyone ever needs some inspiration of their own.
1. Black Beauty
I love, love, love the movie, though I get teary at parts, it's wonderful and every bit as good as the book, which is a quality I find rare in movies. I must have read the book 50 times growing up.
2. Seabiscuit
This is a fairly new movie with Tobey Maguire. I'm so glad they made one about this horse story. I found it very well done and I've watched it over and over.
3. Sylvester
This is an older and maybe lesser known movie starring Melissa Gilbert. It's about a girl who takes a throw-away ranch horse and turns him into an Olympic eventer. It's awsome! I wish I had it, I haven't seen a copy of it in years.
4. Misty
This is a wonderful tale, by Margurite Henry, about two kids who get to adopt a Chincoteague pony. I always dreamed that instead of Disneyland for summer vacation, my parents would take me to Virginia for the round up and I could get my own Misty.
5. Wild Hearts Can'tBe Broken
This is an older movie, too, but still plays occasionally on cable. It's about a Depression-era horse crazy girl turned diving girl. There's a lot of cheezy love story stuff in the plot but I find the whole movie sweet and touching.
6. National Velvet
This was another of my favorite books when I was growing up, but I was a little dis-enchanted with the Elizabeth Taylor version of the movie. This is mainly because the whole point is that the race horse was a paint and so got no respect. But the movie used a big chestnut that looked like a racehorse so it blew the whole point. If you can get past that, though, this movie is pretty good, too.
7. Ride a Wild Pony
Another old movie (they just don't make many good horse movies anymore, do they?). About two little kids who lay claim to the same unruly pony. Cute, cute movie, cheezy, but I like all the palomino ponies.
8.The Black Stallion
This is the classic tale of a shipwrecked boy and horse who befriend each other on an island, and when they make it back to civilization, prove themselves in a big race. The movie was just magical to me then, although with each sequel the magic faded quite a bit.
So those are my recomendations. I'm starting my daughters on these now so that hopefully, a new generation of horse-crazy girls can help them live on.
1. Black Beauty
I love, love, love the movie, though I get teary at parts, it's wonderful and every bit as good as the book, which is a quality I find rare in movies. I must have read the book 50 times growing up.
2. Seabiscuit
This is a fairly new movie with Tobey Maguire. I'm so glad they made one about this horse story. I found it very well done and I've watched it over and over.
3. Sylvester
This is an older and maybe lesser known movie starring Melissa Gilbert. It's about a girl who takes a throw-away ranch horse and turns him into an Olympic eventer. It's awsome! I wish I had it, I haven't seen a copy of it in years.
4. Misty
This is a wonderful tale, by Margurite Henry, about two kids who get to adopt a Chincoteague pony. I always dreamed that instead of Disneyland for summer vacation, my parents would take me to Virginia for the round up and I could get my own Misty.
5. Wild Hearts Can'tBe Broken
This is an older movie, too, but still plays occasionally on cable. It's about a Depression-era horse crazy girl turned diving girl. There's a lot of cheezy love story stuff in the plot but I find the whole movie sweet and touching.
6. National Velvet
This was another of my favorite books when I was growing up, but I was a little dis-enchanted with the Elizabeth Taylor version of the movie. This is mainly because the whole point is that the race horse was a paint and so got no respect. But the movie used a big chestnut that looked like a racehorse so it blew the whole point. If you can get past that, though, this movie is pretty good, too.
7. Ride a Wild Pony
Another old movie (they just don't make many good horse movies anymore, do they?). About two little kids who lay claim to the same unruly pony. Cute, cute movie, cheezy, but I like all the palomino ponies.
8.The Black Stallion
This is the classic tale of a shipwrecked boy and horse who befriend each other on an island, and when they make it back to civilization, prove themselves in a big race. The movie was just magical to me then, although with each sequel the magic faded quite a bit.
So those are my recomendations. I'm starting my daughters on these now so that hopefully, a new generation of horse-crazy girls can help them live on.
posted by Alicia T @ 7:30 PM
1 Comments:
At 2:33 PM,
Anonymous said…
My dear daughter, have you forgotten the most important horsey movie of all? Ask your two little ones, who have already seen it at least a hundred times. That's right, you silly... "SPIRIT, Stallion of the Cimarron!"
Okay, so it's a cartoon. It's still a great story, not only about about horses (specifically a wild mustang), but also about friendship, survival, trust, and courage. It even brings a tear to your eye (sort of like "Bambi," right?) and YES, the girls can borrow it again!
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