Oscar Night

In honor of it being Oscar night and the month of March (aka, the official 30-day celebration of St. Patrick's Day), here's a review of a movie about an Irish breed of horse.

The Little Horse That Could - The Connemara Stallion: Erin Go Bragh

1996, Dreams Come True Productions

Dir: Stirlin Harris

This video for children features a voiceover narration from the horse himself as he recounts his life story and pursues an eventing career with rider Carol Kozlowski. Go Bragh and Carol are shown training and competing, with simple explanations of both everyday events like a farrier's visit and more specialized events like a trip to Anne Kursinski's Market Street Farm for lessons.

Beautiful, fun and very kid-friendly, though the Lucky Charms accent on the voiceover and the relentless fiddle music in the background will make you want to mute it and just watch. Ground-level shots frequently add humor as the farm's ubiquitus and iniquitous Jack Russell Terriers begin threatening the cameraman; the little terrors also function as neckwarmers for Carol on the long drives south to events.

Note

Available in VHS or DVD, this film was for a time also packaged with a Breyer model of Go Bragh.

Update

Erin Go Bragh was retired from competition in 1999; he is now a sire. Carol Kozlowski continues to ride. In 2009, one of the horses she has been competing is a Go Bragh offspring, Lookover Erin.

Horses

Hideaway's Erin Go Bragh (aka Go Bragh) - 15.1 bay Connemara stallion

Hideaway's Erin Smithereen - Go Bragh's sire, grey

Links

Hideaway Farm Connemaras

Dreams Come True Productions

Breyer model

American Connemara Pony Society
USEF article about Kozlowski