Ruffian movie on tonite (Sat. 6/9)

[Sannois]

Question for you racing history experts?

They said in the Movie she blew out her Sesmoid bones. Is that correct? Also was the break in actuality that graphic? I don’t recall.
And excuse my ignorance or lack of memory… old age. LOL But the raft that was invented for recovery of horses after leg surgery, when was that in use. Was it Dean Richardson who invented it? How many TBs could have been saved from Ruffians fate if there was that sort of apparatus.
Forgive me if I am wrong, but to me it was more tragic that she came through the surgery only to break her other leg with the thrashing. That was too much to bear. I would rather she had been put down instead of suffer that fate. I know its just me. but that tore me up mre than the actual breakdown. :no:

[thegirlwonder]

The breakdown will always be the worst part for me. True I wasn’t technically born until 3 years later, but believe me, with all the reading I did while traveling to horse shows in my junior years I feel like I was there. She did blow out her entire sesamoid and was taken to the clinic for surgery. I am not sure about the inflatable cast though, that seems like it should have come later. Anyhow, the breakdown is unbearable because she was still trying to run even after her blow out. She made it another 50 yds before her jock could pull her up.

When she awoke from her anesthesia, she was still running.

I cry whenever I think about it and this movie last night only added fuel to the fire.

[YankeeLawyer]

[QUOTE=Barnfairy;2490461]

The demise of her sire and dam ensured that that particular combination would never exist again (though it had been tried again before their deaths, and Shenanigans did not take – it wasn’t meant to be).

There are lessons to be learned from this, and one is, breed responsibly. Ruffian was heavily inbred to Discovery.[/QUOTE]

You are kidding, right? Ruffian was one of the greatest racehorses of all time and you point to her as an example of irresponsible breeding?

FYI, a lot of horses react badly coming out of anesthesia.

[Freebird]

@YankeeLawyer;2490634

You are kidding, right? Ruffian was one of the greatest racehorses of all time and you point to her as an example of irresponsible breeding?

FYI, a lot of horses react badly coming out of anesthesia.

She was great because she was a fluke. While a lot of horses may have died coming our of anesthesia 30 years ago, Ruffian’s breeding certainly didn’t help.

http://www.reines-de-course.com/ruffian.htm is a good explanation of her pedigree.

Reviewer’s entire female family, the Flitabout clan, has consistently thrown soft horses."

and

The family is trouble and it gets much of that trouble from Challenger II who appeared to throw a recessive soundness problem inherited from his paternal grandsire John O’Gaunt, and the mare Traverse."

and

“Reviewer, let’s face it, should never have gone to stud. He was an accident waiting to happen.”

And well, I guess you’ll just have to read the article for yourself.

So yes, if they hadn’t bred Reviewer to Shenanigans we may not have seen the likes of Ruffian…but we also wouldn’t have seen her blow her sesmoids out in a match race.

[Tackpud]

I got pre-empted by some music award show and couldn’t wait up until Ruffian started at 11:45. :mad:

I clearly remember the match race - it was the day of the Poe’s party. I had to go to the party after watching the race and just sat around crying with a few others.

[rcloisonne]

[QUOTE=Sannois;2490627]
They said in the Movie she blew out her Sesmoid bones. Is that correct? Also was the break in actuality that graphic? I don’t recall.([/QUOTE]
Yes, it was graphic. Hard to believe she could have recovered from this even if she hadn’t refractured after surgery. It took a long while to stop her. And while I don’t know if radiographs have ever been available, Ruffian’s breakdown looked to be a far worse scenario than Barbaro’s catastrophic injury.

I think most here have seen this but for those who haven’t:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGFswkcfqaA&mode=related&search=

WARNING: Graphic breakdown.

[Sannois]

Thst was beautiful

[QUOTE=rcloisonne;2490665]
Yes, it was graphic. Hard to believe she could have recovered from this even if she hadn’t refractured after surgery. It took a long while to stop her. And while I don’t know if radiographs have ever been available, Ruffian’s breakdown looked to be a far worse scenario than Barbaro’s catastrophic injury.

I think most here have seen this but for those who haven’t:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGFswkcfqaA&mode=related&search=

WARNING: Graphic breakdown.[/QUOTE]

I’m blubbering again. As awful as the break on the Video was, abcs depiction was far too graphic. Thats for that I have never seen it. OR if I have its far too many years ago to remember. :no: What a great animal she was!

[Sannois]

Another Trivia question

Did she have a barn name? or did they just call her Ruffian? She was so regal and full of class that I somehow doubt it. :sadsmile:

[Pronzini]

The definitive book on Ruffian is Jane Schwartz’ Ruffian: Burning From the Start. She mentions contemporary writers Bill Rudy, Russ Harris, Teddy Cox and Barney Nagler. The references to Bill Nack are exactly zero which supports Whiteley’s contention that he might have been some nameless reporter hanging on the fringes but he certainly wasn’t central to the story. I’m not certain why they did that since lovers of the Schwartz book will certainly recognize a lot of the imagery and point of view right down to ending with Whiteley looking at the new yearlings. I’m not sure why anyone really needed the Nack character at all.

[FLAbreds]

I had not seen the original footage of the breakdown for quite some time and it’s still painful to watch. I remember as a child watching that match race and sitting there asking my mother what Ruffian was doing when she broke down because she was clearly winning at that point. After she was euthanized I think I cried for days after that.

I enjoyed the movie, even though I was disappointed that they didn’t actually film at Saratoga and in one scene you could clearly see that Ruffian was a gelding (ooops!). Sam Shephard did a great job and yes, the breakdown was graphic, but I watched it and cried from that point all the way to the end.

[MsM]

Well I am old enough :eek: to remember the actual race. In fact I went to the track for the last race she finished. Still have the program and the winning ticket…
I remember the ridiculous “battle of the sexes” hoopla surrounding the race. I do recall the break and the quick application of the inflatable splint. If I recall correctly, it was a compound fracture with bones thru the skin - so worse than Barbaro’s injury.
Some of the things that have improved since that time:

1. Waiting to operate until the horse is stabilized and calmer.
2. Improved anesthetics
3. Lighter and improved casting materials
4. Improved methods for anesthesia recovery
5. More options for pain control

Still, a few years ago Equus did a study and found that, given the severity of her injury, it was still unlikely that she could have been saved even with the improvements. The open injury set her up for massive infection problems, even if the other problems could have been overcome.

I also thought the leg breaking was a bit too graphic - the sound really cut through me.

[AllWeatherGal]

@VASQUEZ21;2490478

First, the movie wasn’t too bad. But some of the special effects were unwarranted and the portrayal of the movie as a true story is laughable.

My uncle is Jacinto Vasquez. He had absolutely no input in this movie. Neither did Frank Whiteley or any body else that worked around the horse. ESPN wanted to use their names and depict them in the movie but gave them no control over the content. Thus, they did not give ESPN the rights to use their stories in the film.

I think it’s fortunate then that he was portrayed as such a sympathetic character. He was my favorite, along with Whitely, of course. Jacinto was such an honorable and likeable guy! I immediately wanted to learn more about him

No offense to those of you who know/own/love the horses who portrayed Ruffian, but they came nowhere close to creating the thrill I felt watching the clips at the end of the movie of the REAL girl.

I must be a real hard-hearted person, tho … I got teary when Whitely was red-eyed, but that’s it. It IS horseracing and while lots of people who work in the INDUSTRY love and care for their partners in sport, as an industry it’s run according to financial business principles.

One thing … at the end … why was “thoroughbred” not capitalized? Of all the parts of the film, that actually annoyed me the very most!

[SuperSTB]

I watched the movie… if you missed it- the Youtube video was better.

[texang73]

@DoubleClick;2490338

I definitely wasn’t prepared for the graphic recreation of her broken leg

Agreed. I thought that was abit much.

But, I thought it was an OK movie, bringing her story to many people that do not/ did not know about her. I bawled.:sadsmile:

[QHJockee]

[QUOTE=MsM;2490808]
I also thought the leg breaking was a bit too graphic - the sound really cut through me.[/QUOTE]

Try being on one and hearing that sound…it lives with you forever. Well, I for one enjoyed the movie, perhaps it was because of my intimate knowledge of the people, places and set. I felt the first 1 1/2 hours did the movie justice, but the end was rather rushed and hurried. Didn’t take the time to tell the story as they should have. Of course it was a low budget film and corners were cut.

In regards to the breakdown, Yves (director) felt it was integral that John Public, who aren’t horsemen, understand the severity of the injury. To convey the seriousness of the injury rather than just say, “hey shoot the horse, it broke it’s leg.” And think there was some hope of saving. Remember, this was an open fracture - even today the horse wouldn’t have much of a chance and would be put down on the track. As far as Nack’s prescence, remember, this movie is not for horse people or people who remember this - it’s for the millions of non horsey folks who are watching it for the STORY of a champion. They are not watching to see if Nack and Whiteley really talked in the barn daily, they don’t care if a filly that was 17 hands in real life is as tall as an average QH and has a sheath. To watch it in with an open mind and in perspective of a layman, I Thought it was a good recap.

As with any movie, there was a lot more to the story and I know of at least 4 parts that ended up on the cutting room floor (myself included in 2 of these parts) that I’m sure the producers and network felt weren’t important enough to the storyline to include in the short time on the tv (gotta have all those commercials you know). Hopefully the DVD will include these scenesm they help further tell the story.

I realize this is a touchy subject for many but if you are open minded about things, it was a pretty good movie. Every movie has its critics, of course. I was a critic of Dreamer (as far as from a practical horse racing standpoint) but at the end of the day, a movie is just that - a movie. It’s for entertainment and though based on real life, does not mimic it. It told the story of a champion. I’m glad they chose to use the footage of her at the end. It showed her true magnificence and glory that abounded her.

[Tory_Relic]

@Sannois;2490760

Did she have a barn name? or did they just call her Ruffian? She was so regal and full of class that I somehow doubt it. :sadsmile:

Her barn name was Sophie.

Incidentally, my mare’s barn name is Sofie (registered name So Fine). She’s a “cousin” of Rags to Riches. :lol:

[jaimebaker]

[QUOTE=YankeeLawyer;2490634]
You are kidding, right? Ruffian was one of the greatest racehorses of all time and you point to her as an example of irresponsible breeding?

FYI, a lot of horses react badly coming out of anesthesia.[/QUOTE]

Freebird explained it beautifully. It was her breeding that probably had quite a bit to do with her breakdown. Soft bones, unsoundness, and the like are traits that can do with genetics.

Obviously, there was much more that led to her breakdown but her breeding didn’t help her.

[asb_own_me]

I TiVo’ed the movie but I’m having second thoughts about watching it, hearing all the negatives posted here. Somewhere packed away, I have a recording from ESPN of the Ruffian/Foolish Pleasure match race that was re-aired during a Ruffian special. I don’t need to see it again.

Whoever mentioned Go For Wand - I remember that day vividly. I have that on tape somewhere as well (when I was a kid, I used to tape all the races that were televised). Again…I don’t need to see it again. I know what happened and it’s no less horrifying and sad now.

[ElonGrad1997]

The stuff in the movie that made me nuts…

1. The obvious change in horses showing she was being played by a gelding with a resizing/reshaping star on “her” forehead
2. When they stretched her front let after saddling her for the match race, the hoof didn’t match the color of her leg. They must have dyed the white leg black for the role.
3. The freakin’ constant knickering/neighing. Who’s horse does that?

On the up side, the movie was well acted. Sam Shepherd was brilliant. I did think the reporter was cheesey though.

I was born on April 14, 1975, Ruffian’s return to racing. My husband was born on July 6, 1975…The Match Race. The racing scenes looked just like the video I’ve seen of her. I enjoyed seeing her actual clips at the end during the credits. Having been too young to remember her, that meant something to me. I’d love to have a DVD of races of great horses.

Someone asked about seeing it again…the DVD is being released June 12.

[findeight]

Ok, I cheated and watched some of it…interspersed with Danica Patrick and a rerun of HBOs really great From the Earth to the Moon.
Better then I thought but burdened with some of the usual issues from the geldings to the worlds quietest horses in the barn…at least they made you believe Seabiscuit was not nice in the barn and horses can be difficult. There was no attempt here. That black horse kicking with the injured leg while a cast was being applied on cue while still dead quiet was silly. If memory serves, Ruffian was no sweatheart in the barn as portrayed here.

I just HATE it when the writers try to create drama and conflict by creating bad guys and good guys, like there wasn’t enough already. Who knows what was said and what their motives might have been…since the principles had no input. Some may not have been portrayed fairly in the name of dramatic interest.

Far as the train wreck reference, don’t take it personally. Sure did not mean it would be the reason most people watch. But I think it is valid for others. Anybody watch the Belmont telecast? They did a feature on one of the jockeys and his injury history…and drug out a series of gruesome beakdowns including one poor thing that tried to get up and keep running on a stump twice, finally knocking into another horse and staying down. Showed that Pimlico breakdown. Showed 3 or 4 others. At dinner time.
Why? People want to see the wrecks? Certainly could have edited out the leg flapping. I don’t know.

In this movie telecast, might have been nice to put a more specific disclaimer before the climactic breakdown scene. They did have one at the beginning but it referred to “intense scenes of horse racing”. It was PG13 and I am sure alot of 10 year old girls who love their ponies and stayed up to watch with their parents who did not know what was in store. Didn’t need to see that one.

One other thing…I don’t think the movie was all that fair to Foolish Pleasure and his connections. He was one fine race horse who went on to be an important sire. Stayed sound too. They sort of skipped over that.