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Post by cally on Mar 29, 2009 12:46:15 GMT 1
I have only snuck a peek at the new Saddle Club (I don't want my boys to spring me watching it; I'll never hear the end of it). And I'm not only not impressed I'm ANGRY!
The scene I saw had a donkey foal running away in a panic with a dining chair tied to it's halter. I'm surprised and disappointed that they got away with doing that and so I have written a snooty email to the 'Horse wrangler' for the program. I believe he's the same guy that allowed the director of The Man from Snowy River to shoot the ridiculously dangerous 'galloping down steep hill scenes' that resulted in many of the film's horses being killed.
I've never been able to watch it since finding that out.
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Post by Claire on Mar 29, 2009 13:07:06 GMT 1
OMG cally I never realised that about the Snow River film! It is unaccpetable if animals are hurt or frightened just to provide entertainment. It is even more disturbing when it is for a children's programme supposedly aimed at young animal lovers! Good on you for writing the email I hope you gave em hell!
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Post by Buster on Mar 29, 2009 14:01:01 GMT 1
Yes thats awful! I was watching the new movie 'Marley and Me' (ok its about a dog but still...' and although its a great movie, you could see the poor dog getting a bit alarmed when it was being yelled at! And in one scene he runs off with a table attatched to him, and for a second he looks terrified, but obviously he is being intructed to run on with it. Bless him, anyone else seen it?
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Post by zoe on Mar 29, 2009 20:50:52 GMT 1
Is it an Austrailian prog? I've not heard of it.
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Post by trixiepony on Mar 30, 2009 1:11:44 GMT 1
Yes I sore that one to Cally but I didn't know you could email them?, could you give me the email address mybe we can all send his snooty emails.
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Post by cally on Apr 1, 2009 9:02:28 GMT 1
I sent the email to www.saddleclubtv.com for the attention of Grahame Ware. I haven't had a reply, unsurprisingly.
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Post by trixiepony on Apr 1, 2009 11:26:30 GMT 1
Thanks I'll try.
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Post by kunuma on Apr 1, 2009 12:05:45 GMT 1
I know the AHS (American Humane Society?) oversees the use of animals in American films, is there no such society overseeing the Australian ones!? You know Cally I did see that film, and spent days afterwards trying to convince myself that the camera angles had made it look worse than it was, it looked bad on the screen - I am very sad to hear that it was as bad as it looked. We have a Saddle Club showing here but I expect it is the old one, it is on at some silly time and I keep missing it, but will try and find it.
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Post by Buster on Apr 1, 2009 17:46:51 GMT 1
I had no idea what film you were on about, but is this the clip?
That horse is AMAZING. But I must admit I was freaking watching them gallop down that hill. Can I just ask, why are they all chasing the horses?
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Post by kunuma on Apr 1, 2009 20:18:39 GMT 1
Yes, that's the one! Really I should let the Australian members answer because I think the poem of the same name the film was based on is quite a national institution. The story is that a favoured mare called Regret had her last colt, and he escaped and joined the brumbies and so they set up a brumby hunt to get him back. The wild herd go down a steep mountain side, and would have escaped, but our hero (well, not mine - I hated him for catching them!) goes down after them and turns them. I'm assuming the injured horses that Cally spoke of were the ones playing the wild horses?
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Post by trixiepony on Apr 2, 2009 6:44:00 GMT 1
Heres the poem by Banjo Paterson. www.mountainman.com.au/mansnowy.htmlIt explanse the story behind the that sene. Gives my the willys every time I see it nowing someny off those butifull horses died.
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Post by kunuma on Apr 13, 2009 16:15:51 GMT 1
cally I finally found the Saddle Club on TV - not sure how old the episodes are though, although the girls appear to have aged quite a lot from the earlier clips they show. I am somewhat perplexed as to why they bothered to use even the titles of the books, as the episodes i have seen so far seem to consist of a lot of wannabe Brittanys doing 'pop videos' - don't remember so much singing and dancing in the books They seem to have built a mock up stables which reminds me of the sort you could get with Sindy dolls, and stuck the odd horse in decorative spots! I know I am guilty of the same mistake as the twins' aunt in Pony Jobs, in thinking that everyone in Australia can ride (although from the way they are beating us in three day eventing at the moment!!.. ) but the series makers seem to have searched high and low for child actors who couldn't! ::)They didn't sound Australian though - more American, but since it was def filmed in Austalia that must be because I am useless with accents. Why can't someone do a really good horsy series - bring back Follyfoot! ;D
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Post by trixiepony on Apr 15, 2009 4:09:04 GMT 1
The series are filmed here in Australia but sum of the young actors are American, at lest Im shore I read sumwhere that the girls that play Carole and Stevie are from Canada, and allso 1 off the boy actors the one playing Simon in the new series.
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Post by kunuma on Apr 15, 2009 18:33:15 GMT 1
That explains it, I'm not that bad at accents after all! It is the weirdest series, but possible because although I expected it to be aimed at young teenagers, like the books, the TV prog is aimed at much younger children. It is sort of tellytubbies with horses!
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Post by kunuma on May 17, 2009 21:08:11 GMT 1
Australian help needed here - whilst looking for the Saddle Club, the same channel here has started showing a sort of teenage Saddle Club, also filmed in Australia, but with better acting and horse handling skills, called The Outriders. Now I haven't yet worked out what it is meant to be about, but it has some really nice horses in it! Anyone heard of it?
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Post by trixiepony on May 19, 2009 6:10:59 GMT 1
kunuma I think you mean outback8 its a reality show thay have 8 kids 4 from australia and 4 from UK. And teach them to be jackaroos then let them lose to round up 200 cattle in the outback of Oz.
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Post by trixiepony on May 19, 2009 6:15:48 GMT 1
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Post by kunuma on May 19, 2009 21:16:56 GMT 1
Well I have worked out from that site that over here they are showing the first two series, the funny thing is that they are not bothering to put the episodes in order, and the girls keep going from 10 to about 14 and back again from one day to another! Pity they replaced Max, he was the only on e I liked! That other series The Outriders - seems to have been a one off, apparently it was made in 2001, so has taken a while to get shown over here!
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Post by kunuma on Nov 23, 2009 22:45:00 GMT 1
I have only snuck a peek at the new Saddle Club (I don't want my boys to spring me watching it; I'll never hear the end of it). And I'm not only not impressed I'm ANGRY! The scene I saw had a donkey foal running away in a panic with a dining chair tied to it's halter. I'm surprised and disappointed that they got away with doing that and so I have written a snooty email to the 'Horse wrangler' for the program. I believe he's the same guy that allowed the director of The Man from Snowy River to shoot the ridiculously dangerous 'galloping down steep hill scenes' that resulted in many of the film's horses being killed. I've never been able to watch it since finding that out. I have just seen that episode of the Saddle Club series - and it is exactly what happens! For some weird reason they have invented a whole lot of stuff for Season Three, and along with actors who are not a patch on the first Season's ones, they have this poor little donkey being forever chased about and galloping around with things tied to him, also lots of horses seem to fall over, and get yanked about - in some clips it is obvious where they had to cut the film because the horses were getting distressed - and this is in a children's series!
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Post by wilderbean on Nov 29, 2009 23:16:24 GMT 1
oh god. don't get me started on the saddle club, I could moan forever.
the first thing i said when my friend said about the new saddle club was "I KNOW they've gone even UGLIER!". I've seen pictures of the new ones, but haven't watched any of the episodes. oh well, might as well moan about one of the old ones, which for me was being unintentionally hilarious.
COBALT NOOO, YOUR DEAD AFTER JUMPING A BEGINNER SIZED JUMP LETS ALL CRY AND MAKE A MASSIVE PILE ON HIS NECK AND ALL CRY, seriously i watched the scene where veronica injures him quite a few times to see how realistic it is (i know, I'm weird like that) and thought, for gods sake, the worst that could happen there is the pole being knocked down or cobalt refusing and veronica going over his neck (which would've been more entertaining). I guess the saddle club was made to entertain girls that know the names of all the horse colours but nothing much else ( you know what i mean) and for the more experienced people to laugh at and point out all the bits that they got wrong.
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Post by cally on Dec 1, 2009 9:24:28 GMT 1
I watched an episode or 2 and they are AWFUL! Please don't think Australian horse riders and establishments are like those in this apalling program! It's like it's been made without the involvement of a single person who knows anything at all about horses and riding. The new 'actors' are much crappier riders than the last lot- one particular jumping competition sequence was so bad it was hysterical- falling off over 1 ft cavalettis etc. Interesting trivia: the original Veronica was a proper rider who competed in real life (which she said was sometimes excruciatingly embarrasing as people treated her like she was Veronica) and is also one of the smartest young people in Oz, travelling OS to compete in MENSA-type comps testing maths and science knowledge.
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Post by Claire on Dec 1, 2009 12:06:13 GMT 1
Hi and welcome wilderbean Lucky I havent seen any of these and wouldn't want to from what everyone has said! On a similar note I noticed that there is now also a Heartland TV show. Anyone seen that one?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2009 13:29:52 GMT 1
Oh dear, saddleclub sounds a load of old tosh. I've not seen Heartland, and if it's like saddleclub I won't be watching that either.
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Post by garej on Dec 6, 2009 17:03:17 GMT 1
Hi and welcome wilderbean Lucky I havent seen any of these and wouldn't want to from what everyone has said! On a similar note I noticed that there is now also a Heartland TV show. Anyone seen that one? No, but it is on E4, which most people in the UK should be able to get. People have written about it on Teletext in the past saying that it was great, but I suspect they were non horsey people, who probably wouldn't know great horse tv from bad.
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Post by wilderbean on Dec 9, 2009 20:42:37 GMT 1
Hi and welcome wilderbean Lucky I havent seen any of these and wouldn't want to from what everyone has said! On a similar note I noticed that there is now also a Heartland TV show. Anyone seen that one? oh god. heartland on TV. I'm never going to watch TV again.
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Post by cally on Mar 13, 2010 20:33:37 GMT 1
During my work break yesterday, after OH had rubbed anti inflammatory gel into my aching back, I put the TV on to keep me awake and 'Saddle Club' was just ending. One of the girls was releasing what I suppose was meant to be a wild brumby back into the bush, so lots of slow mo & soppy singing etc. Thing is, the beautiful black stallion was so OBVIOUSLY a purebred Fresian it further spoilt this gem of a show. Besides, horses are regarded as feral animals here and often end up being....well, you know what...so all in all, an INCREDIBLE load of sh*#e and totally offensive to anyone who knows a speck about horses. Even Aussie kids would pick up on that straight away.
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Post by Buster on Apr 3, 2010 10:16:37 GMT 1
I think the funniest bit is when they are pretending to ride, and the camera is just focusing on their head and wiggling around a bit. Apparently they are too 'valuable' to do the actual riding... haha yeah right, loads of more famous actors have ridden horses in much more famous movies!
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Post by kunuma on Apr 4, 2010 12:16:11 GMT 1
Being still TV less I've been watching DVDs of Fury and Champion! One thing that really strikes me, and makes me realise why they had such an impact on me as a child although I barely ever saw them, was what brilliant riders the child actors were in both of them. Even the extras could all ride - well back in those days they must have had the strange idea that in a film about horses the actors should actually know one end of a horse from another!! Not only could the two boys ride well, they quite obviously had a really good relationship with the leading equine actor too! I wonder if they kept up riding throughout their lives? I think I am going to start a campaign to reshow the old horsy series, bring back White Horses, Follyfoot etc! Now if only I could remember my facebook password!!!!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2010 12:33:12 GMT 1
I'm right behind you on this one Kunuma
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Post by cally on Apr 8, 2010 23:18:40 GMT 1
re. brilliant child actor/riders, look at young Liz Taylor galloping bareback in a skirt holding the reins in one hand and facing a racing camera and waving with the other in National Velvet! That horse was at least 16hh and she's barely moving!
She did end up breaking her back filming NV in a riding accident- what a plucky lady she is.
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