I took my girl to see the movie “Dreamer” this afternoon.  Oh my goodness — what an incredible movie.  I have to tell you, I literally flinched when Sonya went down on the racetrack and cried off and on throughout the rest of the movie.  It is that moving from start to finish.  Some of the crying was sadness for the difficulties facing the family and some of it was pure joy at the determination of a little girl and a beautiful horse.  I think a bit of it too was for the initial similarities between this story and that of Ruffian, a horse truly born to run.  I can’t remember how old I was exactly, but probably around 12, when I watched on television what would be Ruffian’s last race.  When she went down it was an incredibly tragic day in horseracing.  From what I’ve read, the drive to run was so strong in Ruffian’s heart that she kept trying to run after her injury and even as the doctors were trying to save her leg.  Alas, it was not to be and the only merciful thing to do was to put her out of her misery.

Fortunately, “Dreamer” has a different ending.  From what I understand, it is based on a true story and I would like to do some research regarding the “real” story.  This world is so full of negativity that it’s a pleasure to see something so full of hope, joy, and determination show up on the movie screen.  I know my 9 year old girl just loved it!