MovieChat Forums > The Long Shot (2004) Discussion > Far too many inaccuracies in this film

Far too many inaccuracies in this film

posted 18 years ago by horsecoach4hire
10 replies | jump to latest

Sorry folks, but for those who look at this as an acurate depiction of the horse world, you are sadly in for a rude awakening. This film could have had great potential, but poor research lead to many, many basic errors in regards to the equestrian portion of this film.
For starters, basic care. It is a well known fact that all riders, from their first riding lesson, are taught to run up their stirrup irons after they dismount. Stirrups can get caught, pull, twist a horse's back, bruise their shoulders and damage the saddle. I find this one of my largest pet peeves when watching films from hollywood. Secondly, the blindness aspect of this horse was downplayed. Horses don't just go blind for no reason. They either have a pre-exisiting condition or slowly lose sight due to age. If this horse had been going blind, he would have shown very obvious signs. SEcondly, horses can most definetly find food and water in their stall if blind. The danger is in the way a horse handles not being able to see. Some hroses are find, others are not. My mare was put down as she was always a nervous horse, and when she finally lost sight in her right eye, it was time to make the decision. She would run into things, panic and become very dangerous to be around. I know another horse who is close to forty, and he is totally blind, and yet five year olds can sit under him and brush him. It depends totally on the horse. One things I can assure you is that no blind horse loads a trailer that easily.

Onto the dressage portion of this. Riders who perform freestyles(kurs) ride to music. They create their own test, and ride specific elements that are stated prior to competition(through the organizing body). Riders also will be warming up their horses prior to competition, not just show up suddenly. At the FEI/GP level of dressage, there are three judges, not just one.

This is just brushing on the top of all the errors I saw in this film. While I can appreciate the storyline, it is sad this film did that no justice. It had no focus on where it wanted to go, and tried to touch down on far too many things.

I commend the real owner and person for which this story is loosely based on. I know what it is like to go through very hard time, medical woes and have to face losing an animal that you love, when it's the only thing you have.

[–] emil_dalessio 17 years ago

It is a movie not a fact telling documentary. I suppose you don't like Superman because people can't really fly.

[–] unonicki 16 years ago

I have to agree with the Original poster. A movie about horses is going to attract an audience comprised mainly of "horse people." There were FAR TOO MANY inconsistencies and continuity errors to make this movie even remotely enjoyable for someone who rides and competes at that level. The ONLY thing I enjoyed about this movie was for a brief moment they show a dark bay with the most beautiful top line I've ever seen.

I had TOO many pet-peeves about this movie as well.

In reference to your Superman comment, MANY comic book fans don't like the Superman movies because they don't accurately depict the comics. Can't horse people not like horse movies because they don't correctly depict the sport?

[–] ceebeegee 11 years ago

A movie about horses is going to attract an audience comprised mainly of "horse people." There were FAR TOO MANY inconsistencies and continuity errors to make this movie even remotely enjoyable for someone who rides and competes at that level.

Well, yes and no. Such a movie might well draw in non-fans--eg., I know horses but I ride hunt seat, and I know very little about dressage. But when I saw horses I had to watch it and in doing so I learned a bit more about dressage. (I did notice the inattention to the stirrups after dismounting...but honestly it didn't really bother me that much.)

[–] canada3dayer 15 years ago

hello, she was riding a MUSICAL FREESTYLE Championship! that means the ride is SET TO MUSIC! which the judges and audience can hear, as one set of marks on the test come from how well the rider chooses the music to go with his/her horse's gaits! where was her music, in her head? and her entry completely screwed up the whole "can he canter" deal - she should have entered in collected canter, given the test she actually rode. every Grand Prix test ever written has the initial entry in collected canter. not to mention that talking to your horse and/or clucking to him - any audible command - is an automatic deduction of marks, and at that level may be automatic elimination. but wow, what a positively novel idea - win a Musical Freestyle by riding the Grand Prix Special (or was it the GPB test; I'll have to go back and check my test book) WITHOUT MUSIC! wish I'd thought of that! (insert copious amounts of sarcasm here)

at any rate, the big point is if you're going to make a film depicting something that people actually know about, get a technical advisor that knows what the hell is going on and LISTEN TO THEM!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen take my advice - Pull down your pants and slide on the ice.

[–] mari-kirk 14 years ago

You bitches need to chill. This was a cute movie that had some nice moments. So what if it wasn't FEI approved. When was the last time you saw a dressage movie? Be grateful.

[–] bothpartiessuck 13 years ago

Good points. Did you also notice during the competition her very obvious kicking of the horse? That girl's calf was almost horizontal behind her!! Also several shots of TOES DOWN/HEELS UP.

It's not like this is a space movie and NASA needs consulting. There are a TON of equestrians to consult for this stuff.

Some of the lesser details are just common sense; like one shot of a horse with a white star and another shot (different horse but also playing the role of Tolo) sans a star. WTF?! Do they think audiences are blind so won't notice the difference?

[–] shayg 12 years ago

Well, I can say that this movie made me aware of dressage, which I have never ever seen reference to in other horse movies or elsewhere. I had previously thought it was just about riding forward at various speeds, and jumping. This is a very interesting aspect that I will be reading more about.

As someone pretty ignorant about horses, I don't look to Hallmark movies for detailed information about them. When watching other movies that are within areas of my own technical knowledge, I would never assume they are presenting everything accurately and are something to learn by. I saw the movie as being about a human struggle that just happened to involve horses, not a documentary about dressage.

[–] horsecoach4hire 12 years ago

I'm not looking for a documentary, but what ever happened to basic research?

The woman who this story is loosely based on was a consultant on this film, no? And folks, if you are going to introduce dressage to a movie, do it right--or else what's the point? You don't need to go into detail, but you can certainly add in information without needing to get too technical--such as a MUSICAL FREESTYLE has MUSIC. DUH!!!

So, according to none horse people, a movie isn't supposed to depict a story correctly? Sorry, I didn't realize people wanted to be ignorant after watching a movie. Unless this was entitled 'Fantasy' and they were riding unicorns, I'd expect a bit more basic accuracy. Look at Phar Lap, The Black Stallion, International Velvet, Sylvester. C'mon folks--not hard to make a horse movie. Also, who is the audience anyhow? Horse people.

[–] shayg 12 years ago

Don't worry, someone like me who didn't know about dressage isn't going to be remembering details about whether freestyle has music. Good point though about having someone even remotely familiar with how things are done, since the corrections you noted would have been easy to make. I wonder whether they knew there was supposed to be music but intentionally left it out for some technical reason.

[–] musicbytes 10 years ago

This is a film for people who are kind and happy !