Thursday, April 10, 2008

Heroines and horses

Last night, in talking to a coworker, Estelle, who likes horses, I remembered a Disney film, Wild Hearts Can't be Broken, that I watched repeatedly when I was 8 or 9 or 10 and in a horse phase. Did any of you see it? The main character, Sonora, was a badass. Then, doing some research today, I realized it was based on a true story and one very real Sonora Webster Carver.

According to her 2003 NYT obituary, "In 1924, she made history when she plummeted 40 feet on horseback into a tank of water." That's what the movie is all about, but holy crap! It takes on a whole new dimension when it's not just the stuff of Disney imagination. Then, despite the jumping making her go blind, she KEPT doing it for years.

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