Here’s an interesting article on the start of the Black Stallion Literacy Project (now known as Horse Tales Literacy Project).
It was published in Arabian Horse Magazine and is about how the program developed as a non-profit.
Too bad sister Alice and brother Steve have never been interested in, involved with or even seen my program in 12 years :( Guess that’s what livin’ for the city (NYC) will do to you, as Stevie Wonder sang way back when!!! You gotta take a look at this (with Ray Charles).
This is one of the coolest magazines out there … all glossy, no ads and FREE!!! You really need to take a look – if not for Black Stallion, to learn about where we are in the Middle East part of life for a lot of Americans soldiers … and History. This magazine has fascinating articles you won’t see anywhere else.
Madison Wallraf, Teen Girl, Saves 25 Horses From Stable Fire Teen Girl Saves Horses, Teen News
Horsegirl
Fifteen-year-old Madison Wallraf was driving to the stables with her family to go riding when she saw the smoke rising. Fearing for the life of her horse, Red, she called 911 and ran over to the fire. In addition to saving Red’s life, the brave girl helped evacuate an estimated 25 horses after a stable in McHenry County, Illinois that went up in flames on Wednesday.
The 4’10” teen told MSNBC: “I started off by just putting their halters on and pulling them out by twos, but then the fire started getting quicker so I just started wrapping their ropes around their necks and just tying them around my arms and pulling them out.”
Although her stepfather pleaded with her not to go in to the stable, Madison rushed in to remove the horses as the ceiling of the stable was falling down.
“I got kicked in the shoulder by one of the horses in there and I got knocked down a few times,” she said. “But my adrenaline was so high at the time that it didn’t phase me.”
Along with 21-year-old co-rescuer Shannon Weitzman, Wallraf was rushed to the local hospital and treated for smoke inhalation after the fire department had arrived.
The fire lasted for roughly two hours before it consumed the entirety of the 25,000 square foot barn. Due to the lack of hydrants, water had to be brought in by truck to fight the flames. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Although many of the horses were saved thanks to the girls’ heroism, 18 died and three escaped, according to the Daily Chronicle. But, at least, Madison has been reunited with her beloved horse, Red.
NYFF17: Family Matinee of “The Black Stallion”
Posted by Jeffrey Bloomer on 2.17.2012
The quintessential tale of a boy and his horse, The Black Stallion screens Saturday at 11am in a special 50 Years of the New York Film Festival family matinee at the Walter Reade Theater.
Although now widely regarded as a classic, The Black Stallion came to NYFF in 1979 with an uncertain future; United Artists, its distributor, didn’t show much interest in it. But after it screened at the festival, positive notices started to roll in, and it went on to a leggy box office run and two Academy Award nominations (though, puzzlingly, not one for its spectacular cinematography). Roger Ebert named the film the best of 1980, and Pauline Kael wrote it was “proof that even children who have grown up with television and may never have been exposed to a good movie can respond to the real thing when they see it.”
Based on the first of a long series of books by Walter Farley, the film picturesquely chronicles the relationship between a boy and his iconic stallion, initially after they are shipwrecked on an island together and eventually on the racetrack. The simple story resonated profoundly enough to inspire a sequel, prequel, television adaptation and myriad imitators in the years that followed.
Come see a magnificent 35mm print this weekend, with tickets just $6 for kids (children 4-12 should be occupied by an adult). And don’t forget to check out our ongoing Family Films series, with daily screenings throughout the February school break and more titles coming soon.
Below is a full list of all the films that played alongside The Black Stallion at the NYFF in 1979:
Luna
Bernardo Bertolucci, Italy/USA, 1979
The Golden Coach
Jean Renoir, Italy/ France, 1953
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
Chuck Jones, USA, 1979
Black Jack
Ken Loach, UK, 1979
WIse Blood
John Houston, USA, 1979
Short Memory (La Memoire Courte)
Eduardo de Gregorio, France/Belgium, 1979
Angi Vera
Pál Gabor, Hungary, 1979
Nosferatu, The Vampyre
Werner Herzog, West Germany/USA, 1978
Mad Wednesday
Preston Sturges, USA, 1950
Scarface
Howard Hawks, USA, 1932
The Europeans
James Ivory, UK, 1979
Molière
Ariane Mnouchkine, France, 1978
Best Boy
Ira Wohl, USA, 1979
Other People’s Money (L’argent des autres)
Christian de Chalonge, France, 1978
Alexandria… Why? (Askandrie…Lie?)
Youssef Chahine, Egypt/Algeria, 1978
My Brilliant Career
Gill Armstrong, Australia, 1979
Primal Fear (Mourir à tue-tête)
Jan-Marie Martell Canada, 1978
In a Year of 13 Moons (In einem jahr mit 13 monden)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, West Germany, 1979
Without Anesthesia
Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1978
The Wobblies
Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer, USA, 1979
The Young Girls of Wilko (Panny z Wilka)
Andrzej Wajda, Poland/France, 1979
Peeping Tom
Michael Powell, UK, 1959
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Rauber Wrber Fassvubder, West Germany, 1978
SPECIAL EVENT: AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS
Film shown were: The Cold World, Shirley Clarke; Heartland, Richard Pearce; Trash, Paul Morissey; Ice, Robert Kramer; Glen and Randa, Jim McBride; Alambrista (The Illegal), Robert M.Young; Badlands, Terence Malick; Gal Yung Un, Victor Nuñez; Killer’s Kiss & The Brig, Stanley Kubrick; Bush Mania, Haile Gerima; Crazy Quilt, John Korty; Northern Lights, Jon Hanson and Rob Nilsson; Sweet Sweetbck’s Badasssss Song, Melvin Van Peebles; Scenic Route, Mark Rappaport.
Enjoy on your tablet and share with a friend or take them with you on your phone for those long plane rides. You can keep the whole collection on file and still have plenty of room for your own stories (or homework :)
Thanks for reading … and writing!
tim farley
