I read and really admired the review written about Saturday Superstars. The show mentioned above can easily earn the tag of being a Friday Superstar.
When the show started 2 months back, I recommended it strongly but my view was junked as not useful by one of the members here and peppered with some rude comments but once again, I risk facing the fire and recommend this show.
Hey, you TV lovers, give yourself a chance to see a show, so complete and fullfilling that by the end of each episode one inevitably picks out a lesson- persistence and love can take you places. This show is a documentary on 2 rival riding clubs, one of them named Beacon Hill that has among its proud students Brianne, Sloane and Chelsea. Each episode is a step-by-step account of their journey forward towards the McLay finals, which is a dream national championship for any rider keen on leaving her mark.
Horse riding is not merely a matter of rider and the horse. A lot goes on behind each show. The riders need the financial and moral backing of their families or devise ways to fund themselves in this rather expensive career. They require full-fledged professional training and medical backup in case the horses are injured.
Ultimately however it boils down to the rider and the horse. It is easy for the horse to be transferred in containers to all parts of the US but for the riders it is challenging to wake up early, taking long drives to venues of each show and dealing with their nerves when they are practicing with the best of the best. In a crowded practice arena, the rider has to bond perfectly with her horse, engage in a gruelling but necessary practice and finally cheerfully accept failure if it comes. The 3 riders who impress me most are Brianne(Logan), Maria(Amigo) and Chelsea.
If for nothing else, this show is worth watching for the special bond between Logan and Brianne. They have already won 2 of the 4 regionals but they need to keep up this peak form for going ahead. Their communication is speechless, her control is superb, her empathy and anticipation is supreme and his response is amazing. Come rain or sun, he trusts her guidance and makes a perfect jump even with eye netting after an injury. This form of riding is not solely clearing fences. It is about gracefully doing that. That marks out Brianne and Logan. They don’t cut corners and sometimes circle twice before Logan take the jump. She makes him totally confident of clearing a fence and after that it is peanuts. Her method of riding is very different from others and thus very special. I hope they win the McLay finals and go on for international competitions.
Chelsea impresses as the youngest rider in the competition. She has the spirit but not the experience required for a completion of this level. Several times she is on the verge of elimination. With time she’ll catch up.
Maria on Amigo of the rival stable is the fiercest competitor of Brianne. She is riding Amigo for the last time and he would be sold off after the end of the season. They gel superbly and give consistently good performances. If she wins the McLay it will be a fitting farewell gift to Amigo.
Watch this show for the spirit of these teenage girls, their true commitment and their ability to communicate with their horse so effortlessly. Watch it for their steely grit and finally, watch this show to see such perfect synchronization between human beings and Nature, making one think if only this extends to all species in the natural world, the earth would be such a great place to live in.