‘Spirit Riding Free’: New Series Coming to Netflix

Brace yourself for every horsey movie trope… ever.

Look, we’ll be the first to admit that yes, we do always support horses and horseback riding in mainstream media, and we’re also huge fans of programs that are meant to inspire young girls to follow their hearts and chase their dreams and be leaders.

That said, we’ll also happily be the first to poke a little fun at the regular tropes that come up again… and again… and again in such TV shows or movies or young adult books. After all, where would we be without the misunderstood protagonist who doesn’t fit in, the city girl exiled to the country, the wild horse that only the misunderstood protagonist can tame (despite having zero horse experience whatsoever)?

Good news, folks, because all of these and more are alive and well in Netflix’ coming series Spirit Riding Free:

Wait a minute, you might be telling yourself. Is this some kind of throwback to Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron? What happened to Spirit that he ended up in this frontier town (with a blaze)? Wasn’t the whole point that Spirit was supposed to run FREE?

Okay, I’ll confess that I haven’t actually watched Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. If you must know, it’s because I can’t even watch the trailer without feeling like I might tear up a little (okay, fine, I actually tear up) and I’m fairly certain there’s no way I’ll ever make it through the whole movie. But I still felt a little offended on the original Spirit’s behalf, because somehow this Netflix thing just doesn’t feel right. But we’ll give the producer a chance to explain:

Hmm. We’ll reserve our judgment for now. Don’t worry, Horse Nation readers — our very own Biz Stamm is on the job as soon as Spirit Riding Free releases on May 5, so keep an eye out for her honest review!

Go riding.