March Madness 2017 FINAL: The Pie v Beauty

Whew.

Three rounds, sixteen excellent competitors, and I bet some of you would have called this final match from the very beginning.

Here we go; poll will be open until midnight on Monday, April 10, EST. I expect it to be fiercely competitive and to go right down to the wire, so make sure you vote!

Final Match

The Pie

v

Black Beauty

Instead of the images I've been sharing, I thought I'd insert some clips from the movies that feature these famous fictional horses.

First up is a nice compilation of scenes from National Velvet in four minutes, but 0:46 starts the really memorable bit.

And here's the very last scene of Black Beauty. If this clip doesn't make you cry like a baby, well. I don't even know.

Now that you've fortified yourself, it's time to vote.

And having voted, make sure you enter the Rafflecopter one last time for your chance to win a custom quarter sheet (or saddle cover, or helmet cover, we'll talk.)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

March Madness 2017: Round 3, Match 2: The Black v Beauty

Okay.

This is the worst - THE WORST - matchup in the entire contest so far. Brace yourselves.

Round 3, Match 2

The Black v Beauty

These two have an awful lot in common. They are both beloved literary horses who became really wonderful movies. They're both black. They both have hard times. They're both beloved of one boy.

They're also different. The Black's entire storyline is about being tamed only by that one boy; Beauty is constantly trying to please everyone.

Their origin stories are about a hundred years apart, and the messages of their stories are dramatically different. The Black is about adventure, passion, and exclusivity; Beauty is about the ways the world chews you up, and what that reveals about the people who go in and out of his life.

(You might also argue that the relative literary quality of their source material differs as well...)

Who will keep going?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

March Madness 2017: Round 3, Match 1: Hidalgo v The Pie

Sorry for the hiatus; I have not been coping terribly well with life the last two weeks. I've been riding and reading and working hard on the house but my interfacing with the world has been suboptimal.

BUT!

Back on the horse now, as it were, and we'll finish out March Madness on the first week of April, which, whatever. It's madness, right there in the title.

The giveaway will last through the next two rounds, and it will be for a custom quarter sheet: if you win, I'll work with you on sizing, design, and colors. (If you live somewhere warm where you don't need a quarter sheet, please know that a) I hate you and b) we'll figure something else out like a saddle cover or garment bag or something.)

SO.

Round 3, Match 1

Hidalgo v The Pie

Well, both are racehorses, of a sort. They both have underdog stories. They both have big awesome movies, but that's really where the similarities stop.

Will it be Hidalgo, the painted mustang pony who proved himself before the whole world and incidentally made Viggo Mortensen look smoking hot while galloping through a desert? I have to say, Hidalgo has been my sleeper surprise of this entire tournament. I never thought he'd make it this far.

OR will it be the Pie, who in the book version at least is also painted but somehow ended up chestnut for the movie even though his whole name is based around the idea that he's piebald? Who carried Velvet Brown to her moment of glory, and was every girl's dream of defying the odds with the horse she loved? Not incidentally, also my favorite Elizabeth Taylor role, and I do love me some Elizabeth Taylor. (Giant, you guys, if you haven't seen it: god damn.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Round 2, Match 4: The Black v Ashleigh's Wonder

First, the winner of Round 2, Match 2: Hidalgo beat out Smoky.

Voting on Round 2, Match 3 is still going on, but it's really not even close; sorry, Brego fans.

I am sorry to say, however, that we have reached what is without question the worst match we've faced so far.

Round 2, Match 4

The Black v Ashleigh's Wonder

For those of you, like me, who are currently in an agony of indecision, voting will end at midnight EST on Saturday.

*sob*

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Round 2, Match 3: Beauty v Brego

Round 2, Match 1 has finished, and our winner is...the Pie!

Round 2, Match 2 is ongoing, and Smokey fans - you may want to help him rally!

Time for...

Round 2, Match 3

Beauty v. Brego

Ugh, I hate this match, but...it's time.

Will it be the hero of one of the best horse books of all time?

Or the companion of one of the best literary heroes of all time?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Round 2, Match 2:

Round 2, Match 1, between the Pie and Flicka, is still going on until midnight tonight! Get your vote in!

Round 2, Match 2

Hidalgo v Smoky

Today's match pits two Western icons against each other, one movie star v one literary star. Who will keep going, and who will go home? (If it's Hidalgo, someone make sure his shoes get pulled before he's let loose on the range this time, ok?)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Round 2, Match 1: The Pie v Flicka

Round 1 was really difficult. Let's reflect for a moment on the horses who were left behind.

The Colt from Old Regret
Artax from The Neverending Story
Joey from War Horse
Sleipnir from Norse mythology
Pegasus from Greek mythology
Merrylegs from Black Beauty
Angus from Brave
The Flame from The Island Stallion

In the meantime, we have our first match of our second round.

Round 2, Match 1

The Pie v Flicka

Round 2 is going to be really hard, folks.

This first match pits two beloved literary horses against each other, and one of them has to go home.

Who will it be? When you've voted, make sure you enter the Rafflecopter for this round.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

March Madness 2017 Round 1 Results

Round 1 is now complete!

Some of our battles were hard-fought; some of them were total blowouts.

One or two really surprised me, honestly. Some I'm kind of sad about. But that's how it works, right?

Our biggest upset was #12 Smoky, who unseated #5 Sleipnir, but #10 Brego also beat out #7 Merrylegs. Just goes to show that nothing is guaranteed!

Here's what our bracket will look like for Round 2.

Aaaaaaand, without further ado, the winner of our Round 1 drawing for a Riding Warehouse gift card + saddle pad is...

Erin O.!

Check your email, Erin - and if you have a blog, let me know so I can link to it!

Round 2 will start tomorrow, with the Pie facing off against Flicka. There are no easy matches in this round, and I'm honestly no longer sure who's going to advance. Stay tuned!

March Madness: Round 1, Match 8: Flame v Ashleigh's Wonder

Round 1, Match 6 produced our closest race yet, but Brego just nudged out Merrylegs to advance.

Today, the last match of Round 1, and it's a doozy. I honestly don't know which one I'll choose, personally.

Round 1, Match 8

Flame v Ashleigh's Wonder

Two literary chestnuts...that's about all they've got in common.

Flame is the Island Stallion, a counterpart and rival to the Black Stallion, has a completely incoherent backstory but is completely badass nonetheless. (Also, it continued incoherent - aliens? vampire bats? wtf?)

Ashleigh's Wonder is the original star of the Thoroughbred series: raised by Ashleigh Griffin, she becomes a superlative racehorse and the foundation mare for the book series' racing stars.

Flame in his secret island valley

Ashleigh and the foal Wonder

My heart can't even take this, but one of these two redheads will stay home, and one will advance.

ALSO: it's your very last chance to vote, share, and enter the Rafflecopter for the Round 1 prize, a $10 Riding Warehouse gift certificate + saddle pad.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

March Madness: Round 1, Match 7

Okay, first: round 1, match 5 results: Beauty crushed Pegasus. I'm not terribly surprised!

I am a bit surprised, however, that round 1, match 6 between Brego and Merrylegs will come down to the wire. If you haven't voted yet, make sure you do so!

And now, on to...

Round 1, Match 7

The Black v Angus

Two hunky black horses for us today, but...not much in common other than that.

The Black is famously untamable, answerable only to Alec, a stallion who survived shipwreck and a deserted island and is the fastest horse of all time.

Angus is a brave, loyal Shire who carries Merida through danger; he has sass, but is ultimately obedient and trained.

Who will it be?

this picture never ever gets old: Alec and the Black

Jessica Chastain cosplaying Merida with a big Shire cosplaying as Angus

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Round 1, Match 6: Brego v Merrylegs

First, the results from Round 1, Match 4, Smoky v Sleipnir:

Smoky!

I have to say, that was the first one that really surprised me. Possibly because I have never read the Smoky books and I'm married to a Swede.

Round 1, Match 5, Beauty v Pegasus, is still going on and it's not terribly tight but you still have time to get your vote in!

Here's today's match.

Round 1, Match 6

Brego v Merrylegs

Not a ton in common between these two!

In Brego, we have our first purely cinematic horse. Created by Peter Jackson for his film trilogy, Brego belonged to the prince of Rohan, Theodred, before he was killed. After a period wild with grief, he chooses to become Aragorn's horse, and carries the King of Gondor through to the end of the story.

[please note the egregious error I made in not including Shadowfax in the initial seeding round; Brego will have to stand in for him as well as other LOTR horses like Bill, Asofel, etc., hi, I'm a dork.]

Merrylegs, from Black Beauty, is the quintessential children's pony. Steady, cheerful, wise, and with just enough sass to keep everyone on their toes.

Who will advance?

I mean we could just do a "horses ridden in a sexy manner by Viggo Mortensen" tournament next year and give me loads of excuses to post pictures like this.

If memory serves, those kids get dumped two seconds later.

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March Madness 2017: Round 1, Match 5: Beauty v Pegasus

Round 1, Match 4 - Sleipnir v Smoky - is still going on and it's competitive, so make sure you vote!

On to...

Round 1, Match 5

Beauty v Pegasus

Like the previous match, these two don't have much in common. They both start literary, but they've also both had their share of film appearances. Other than that, they're pretty much black and white. Literally.

Beauty is the eponymous star of possibly the best horse book of all time (I'll fight you over that), Black Beauty. His story shows the horrible fates waiting for horses in Victorian England, though his is eventually a happy ending.

Pegasus is the equine star of the best mythology of all time. (I'll fight you over that one, too.) He's captured by the greek hero Bellerophon, who rides him to defeat the three-headed Chimera. (Also, if you want to laugh really hard, his Wikipedia article has an actual pedigree chart for him and it's amazing.)

Who'll it be? These are two of the most well-known archetypes in the equine fiction world, so choose wisely.

The cover of my favorite copy of Black Beauty

Pegasus. There are a LOT of slightly weird images of pegasii on Google Images.

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March Madness 2017: Round 1, Match 4: Smoky v Sleipnir

First, to announce our winners over the weekend.

Round 1, Match 2: Flicka!

Round 1, Match 3: Hidalgo!


And now...

Round 1, Match 4

Smoky v Sleipnir

I am hard-pressed to find any similarities between our two contenders today. Their names start with the same letter? They're both sort of literary? That's all I've got.

Smoky is a sort of Western Black Beauty, living the hardships of the American West through his life, passing through many hands and many circles before ending up with his beloved first owner again.

Sleipnir is an eight-legged steed sired by the magical stallion Svaoilfari on the god Loki in mare form. He's the favored steed of Odin and is frankly kind of terrifying.

Smoky

Odin on Sleipnir (concept art from Thor)

The choice is pretty stark, and I'm curious to see how this one goes!

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March Madness 2017: Round 1, Match 3: Hidalgo v Joey

Onward and upward! Round 1, Match 2 voting is open through midnight tonight, and it's a tight race between Flicka and Artax, so make sure you cast your vote!

First, to announce the winner of Round 1, Match 1:

The Pie!

And now, on to...

Round 1, Match 3

Hidalgo v Joey

Interesting matchup here - two fictional horses based clearly in historical circumstances! Other than that, these two are pretty different.

Both do come from books - Hidalgo is based on the writings of Frank Hopkins, which may or may not be mostly made up. Joey is the main character of the YA book War Horse. Both horses have extraordinary journeys, and are much the worse for the wear at various points. Both are eventually reunited with their owners.

Hidalgo, though, is a mustang; Joey is (presumably) a decently bred English saddle horse. And though they both got big budget Hollywood films, Hidalgo's was arguably better. It definitely had a hotter protagonist.

Joey is much more of an everyman horse, and his job is to show us our humanity as we learn about his troubles. His story is arguably more textured, and the acclaimed stage show shows some of that texture: it's a relatable story set amidst the horror of war, about larger forces out of anyone's control.

Viggo Mortensen & Hidalgo

yes, please

Albert & Joey

Who will advance?

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March Madness 2017: Round 1, Match 2

Round 1, Match 1 will go until midnight tonight, but in order to get all of these out of the way, we're going to have to move quickly through round 1.

SO!

Round 1, Match 2

Flicka v Artax

Another day, another set of contenders who originated in literature and had beloved movies. For both of them, their onscreen incarnations might actually be more famous than their literary versions.

Both are light-colored, both are beloved by young boys. For both, my enduring mental image is of them sick, injured, dying - and down, with their boys urging them to live. (Some of us have never gotten over the Swamp of Sadness, OKAY?)

(no seriously fuck that movie. not that i'm trying to influence voting, but fuck that movie forever.)

(also speaking of terrible movies, for the purposes of this contest, we're going with OG Flicka, Ken's Flicka, chestnut mare Flicka, not the weird black stallion version from the new movie that only shares a name with the book)

Ken & Flicka

Atreyu & Artax

Who will it be?

Once you've voted, make sure to enter the Rafflecopter for this match.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

March Madness 2017: Round 1, Match 1

HERE WE GO!

First, an announcement: not a single brave soul took me up on option b, so we're scrapping that.

I still want to give prizes, though! Let me give you cool stuff!

SO. Each round will have its own prize. A Rafflecopter will run through the duration of each round, and you'll get entries for voting & for sharing the contest. At the end of each round, I'll draw, and then we'll start a new contest.

Round 1 prize is: a $10 Riding Warehouse gift card + Riding Warehouse saddle pad!

Round 1, Match 1

The Pie v The Colt from Old Regret

This is getting serious right off the bat! Who will win? 

There are some interesting similarities between these two: they both started as beloved literary creations, one from a book and one from a poem. Both are nominally part of the British Empire. Both got spectacular, classic, beloved films.

There are also some pretty clear differences. The Pie didn't need to be tamed; he needed to be trained, and the culmination of his story was to take the ultimate amateur to the ultimate professional's test in the Grand National.

The colt needed to be tamed, by a quiet professional, and his story arc ends with him trying to escape the humans, not cooperate with them.

Elizabeth Taylor playing Velvet Brown with The Pie

Random actor in a touring show playing Jim Craig and the Colt from Old Regret

Who will move on to the next round?

Once you've voted, enter for Round 1, Match 1!

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March Madness 2017 Bracket!

IT'S HERE!

The poll results are in, and we're ready to start voting next Wednesday, March 1.

In order, our seeds are:

The Pie, from National Velvet

Beauty, from Black Beauty

The Black, from Walter Farley's Black Stallion

Hidalgo, from the movie of the same name

Sleipnir, from Norse mythology

Ashleigh's Wonder, from the Thoroughbred series

Merrylegs, from Black Beauty

Artax, from The Neverending Story

Flicka, from My Friend Flicka

Brego, from Lord of the Rings

Flame, from Walter Farley's Black Stallion

Smoky the Cowhorse, from the Smoky the Cowhorse book series

Joey, from War Horse

Angus, from Brave (Disney movie)

Pegasus

The Colt from Old Regret, from The Man from Snowy River

SO, what are our next steps?

You can participate in this tournament in one of two ways.

1. Just follow along and vote and root for your favorite horse. All that means is you check back here regularly and keep voting!

2. Create your own bracket for a little skin in the game. Originally, I thought that the winner might get the cash pool but it turns out that's kind of illegal and also not easy to manage - it would mean you would all have to give me the money and I'd have to keep it and there were no easy online tools to do that.

So here's plan b: you donate an entry fee to a GoFundMe account. At the end of the tournament, all of that money is donated to the winner's equine-related charity of choice AND the winner gets a bunch of awesome prizes. Now, I don't know what those are yet, so consider this my recruitment post: do you have something you want to offer as a prize for our contest? If you donate something, then I will waive your entry donation for the tournament.

Our first prize is one that I will put up: a custom quarter sheet, made to the colors/pattern of your choice and your horse's measurements! I'll do a roundup post soon when I've collected more prizes.

If you want to create your own bracket, here are your steps.

a. Donate a sum of money (minimum $5) to our Equine Charity GoFundMe account.

b. Save the bracket image above and make your predictions; use MS paint or something else to fill in who you think will win each match, and ultimately the whole tournament

If you want to enter everything from scratch and use an easier tool, here's a bracket PDF; you can use a screenshot to save it as an image.

c. Email your completed bracket to beljoeor@gmail.com. I will then post it on our tournament page for everyone else to see that you've officially entered, and link back to your blog. I'll also double-check at that time to make sure that you've made a donation to officially enter.

Reminder: VOTE VOTE VOTE!

judgey-faced awkwardly-posing mustang

We are full on in the seeding portion of the March Madness 2017 Tournament, deciding the best fictional horse.

Make sure you get your vote in before midnight tonight!

March Madness 2017: Seeding Competitors

Here is the exhaustive list of nominated competitors for Best Fictional Horse Ever.

Please choose six from the list below.

All votes will be tallied up; the top 16 will become part of the tournament, and will be seeded according to their vote count.

This list was created from your suggestions and then added by me trolling the amazing Wikipedia article of fictional horses, where you should go if you want to lose a few hours of time.

I know it's long, but it's going to make an awesome tournament!

Voting will close at midnight on 2/24, and I'll seed the winners according to the number of votes they get, with ties broken at my discretion. The bracket will then appear on Friday, February 25, for us to get our own brackets ready!

Reminder: keep proposing fictional horses!

Tomorrow I'll run the poll that will seed our competitors for March Madness 2017, but in the meantime, there's still some time left to suggest competitors!

You can suggest as many as you want, so name away!

I also wanted to open up for discussion an excellent point that Lauren made in the comments on my original post: should we consider Misty of Chincoteague fictional? I had listed her as such in my initial post but Lauren pointed out that she was based on a real horse.

I think there's an interesting argument for the book-version of Misty being very different from real-life Misty, and she might still qualify, but I'm willing to be persuaded in either direction. What do you think?