The Horse with the Flying Tail
Encyclopedia
The Horse with the Flying Tail is a 1960 American documentary film by Walt Disney Pictures
, that won the Best Documentary award at the 33rd Academy Awards
. The movie is about the palomino
horse, Nautical, who won the team gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games
.
The movie portrays this horse as having been a nondescript stock horse
, however, he was sired by an American Quarter Horse
named Muchacho de Oro out of an Army Remount mare
of mostly Thoroughbred
breeding.
This horse's registered name was Peter de Oro, which was given to him at birth. He became an open jumper and was shown
in the national horse show
circuit in the United States. Open jumpers compete for scores based on faults (if a jump is touched or a rail knocked down) and time elapsed to complete the course. Prior to his Olympic fame, he had a reputation as a temperamental jumper who was inclined to stop at water and ditch jumps. Such refusals would disqualify a jumper from an event and his nickname
among competitors was, Sneaky Pete, for those obvious reasons.
He was an excellent jumper (when willing), however, and when he cleared a fence, Sneaky Pete consistently would raise his tail in the characteristic fashion shown in the photograph displayed from the film. That tail, raised so high, was repeated for each faultless jump and spectators at horse show
s relied upon this signal from the horse to record his scores, without waiting for the results from the judges. Hence the title of the film about his career.
When he was obtained by Hugh Wiley, Wiley enlisted the help of the United States Equestrian Team
coach, Bertalan de Nemethy
, and together the two men trained the horse to be the Olympic level open jumper he became. At that time he became known as Nautical and was ridden regularly by members of the U. S. Equestrian Team in international competitions.
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
, that won the Best Documentary award at the 33rd Academy Awards
33rd Academy Awards
The 33rd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1960, were held on April 17, 1961 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California...
. The movie is about the palomino
Palomino
Palomino is a coat color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" base coat...
horse, Nautical, who won the team gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
.
The movie portrays this horse as having been a nondescript stock horse
Stock horse
A Stock horse is a horse of a type that is well suited for working with livestock, particularly cattle. Such horses are riding horsescharacterized by agility, quickness, and powerful hindquarters...
, however, he was sired by an American Quarter Horse
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...
named Muchacho de Oro out of an Army Remount mare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
of mostly Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
breeding.
This horse's registered name was Peter de Oro, which was given to him at birth. He became an open jumper and was shown
Show hunter
The show hunter is a type of show horse that is judged on its movement, manners, and way of going, particularly while jumping fences. The horses are shown in hunt seat style tack, and are often of Warmblood or Thoroughbred type, though a hunter-style pony is also seen in youth classes...
in the national horse show
Horse show
A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...
circuit in the United States. Open jumpers compete for scores based on faults (if a jump is touched or a rail knocked down) and time elapsed to complete the course. Prior to his Olympic fame, he had a reputation as a temperamental jumper who was inclined to stop at water and ditch jumps. Such refusals would disqualify a jumper from an event and his nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
among competitors was, Sneaky Pete, for those obvious reasons.
He was an excellent jumper (when willing), however, and when he cleared a fence, Sneaky Pete consistently would raise his tail in the characteristic fashion shown in the photograph displayed from the film. That tail, raised so high, was repeated for each faultless jump and spectators at horse show
Horse show
A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...
s relied upon this signal from the horse to record his scores, without waiting for the results from the judges. Hence the title of the film about his career.
When he was obtained by Hugh Wiley, Wiley enlisted the help of the United States Equestrian Team
United States Equestrian Team
The United States Equestrian Team, or USET, was founded in 1950 at the Coates estate on van Beuren Road in Morristown, New Jersey, and is the international equestrian team for the United States...
coach, Bertalan de Nemethy
Bertalan de Némethy
Bertalan de Némethy was a cavalry officer in Hungary and later became the show jumping coach for the United States Equestrian Team...
, and together the two men trained the horse to be the Olympic level open jumper he became. At that time he became known as Nautical and was ridden regularly by members of the U. S. Equestrian Team in international competitions.
External links
- The Horse with the Flying Tail at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...