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Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Haley - Round 3 RERUN

#FHT #FHT round 3 #Group Haley

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Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Haley - Round 3

#you just want to see me suffer don't you

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Propaganda (Shetan, The Black Stallion): For me, the original 1979 movie enshrines Shetan as the ultimate fictional horse -- beautiful, powerful, defiant and fierce (but then loyal!) He's portrayed wonderfully by the horse actors (particularly the exquisite Cass Ole) and the camerawork and soundtrack just enhance how majestic and mysterious he is. As for later movies, like the one that reveals he's the child of a cosmic alien space horse... well, that's a bug or a feature depending on your outlook. But for me, the original is hard to beat.

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDW2CT5neyM

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Propaganda (Thowra, The Silver Brumby Series): A wild silver-palomino stallion, Thowra's intelligent, mysterious, and perhaps even a little magical. While the movie doesn't attempt to make him talk, leaving all horse dialogue implied, the books (an entire series) give him plenty of dialogue, showing him to be rather cocky -- though not without reason. In both the movie and the books, he's almost a symbol of nature, so attuned to the wild mountains where he lives and the fog and rainfall that he seems to have a supernatural ability to evade human capture. He's an exciting, dramatic example of the Wild Horse That Couldn't Be Caught trope, and the later books show him with an expanding family and an entire horse "kingdom" he oversees in the wilds. He's also friends with the kangaroos, that's fun. And how can you not love his dramatic leap at the end of the first book/movie? The movie does this great "Does he live? Does he die?" monologue at the end, raising Thowra to actual legendary status.

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Propaganda for Roach (The Witcher): Roach is actually more of a group of horses, because Geralt names every horse he owns the same - but it's sure that wherever the witcher wanders, so does his horse.

Roach does a tough job accompanying her rider throughout the dangerous terrain infested with monsters, and no less dangerous encounters on the road. Her most iconic depiction are the lovable chestnut from the 1st season of the Netflix series (played by a male horse named Zeusz) and the bay from Witcher 3, altough the Roaches from the earlier TV series and movie also deserve a mention. Her name in Polish (Płotka) has a double meaning - it's a diminuitive of płoć, a feminine noun and a name of a small fish species, but it's also a stand-in for a small catch, or an irrelevant person.

In the game she is truly the impressive jack-of-all trades, carrying heavy trophies, acting as Geralt's warhorse and taking a pretty fair amount of time in the presence of actual monsters before she spooks. She's potentially the fastest racehorse in the Northern Kingdoms and she faithfully finds her rider when she's called (not without the iconic shenanigans, of course). Her ability to spawn in the weirdest places and positions has become a meme that added an unintended comic relief to the game, and it's referenced in her Gwent card. She's the reliable, silent companion throughout the game. Well, mostly silent, because in one DLC quest she speaks. Or rather, Geralt can hear her speak. I thoroughly recommend watching the scene in Polish dubbing, it's hilarious - her voice actor is a radio presenter, who definitely has a lot of fun. (if you don't mind occasional commentary, I was able to find the scene with polish dubbing and english subtitles: https://youtu.be/lGnVZ-Vt7Lo?si=R-Tq7TqakegAxNTO&t=746)

Roach's presence in various Witcher media has always underlined the humanity of her owner - Geralt, who's perceived in-world as a cold-blooded mutant and sometimes expected to be deprived of human emotions cares about his horses, despite the utilitarian nature of the relation. The horses also treat him like an ordinary human. The fact that he names all of his horses the same is also one of his humanising quirks that his friends make fun of. The fact Roach is always a mare also is a subversion of expectation - in a grim, medieval high fantasy world one would expect a hypermasculine hero to ride into battle on a back of a stallion - but Geralt is a deconstruction of a classic high fantasy hero, and he prefers to ride mares because he considers them more reliable.

So to sum up, Roach is a horse with many faces, a faithful companion, a mischievous comic relief, an important narrative tool, a feminist icon and a very good girl!

Pics:

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Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Shane - Round 3

#FHT #FHT round 3 #Group Shane

[only-horse-polls]

Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Shane - Round 3

#FHT #FHT round 3 #Group Shane

[only-horse-polls]

Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Shane - Round 3

#FHT #FHT round 3 #Group Shane

[only-horse-polls]

Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Shane - Round 3

#FHT #FHT round 3 #Group Shane

[only-horse-polls]

Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Shane - Round 3

#FHT #FHT round 3 #Group Shane

[only-horse-polls]

Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Shane - Round 3

#FHT #FHT round 3 #Group Shane

[only-horse-polls]

Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Shane - Round 3

#FHT #FHT round 3 #Group Shane #took a 1 day break from polls to do some self-care and spend the entire day with pup but now we're back up and running!

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Propaganda (Rain, Spirit): I'm sure Rain's going to get plenty of propaganda, but I want to highlight her strong Roman nose as a design choice. Female animated animals so often have huge foreheads and teeny little noses, so giving her a dished Arabian face would've been an obvious move. But they went completely in the opposite direction, and it gives her such a distinctive look.

Her Breyer sculpt is very fun and floofy (and when I was still following these things, was often hard to find on the resale market, further demonstrating her popularity):

And finally can we talk about Hans Zimmer's musical theme for her? Beautiful, but even more than that, assertive and joyous.

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSaDjgX0bww

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Propaganda (Starlite, Rainbow Brite): He's a goofily arrogant horse who runs along rainbows and helps protect his little friends, how can you not love him? Allegedly character designer Rich Rudish (whose swoopy style undoubtedly influenced no end of young horse artists) based the character on his son's horse: “I modeled Starlite after my son's horse, an Arabian gelding named By Jingo, and many of By Jingo's qualities are now a part of Starlite's character.”

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propaganda for starlite from rainbow brite: rainbows and stars wheeeeeeeeee!!!!! also he said hes the most magnificent horse in the universe idk whats his source on that tho sry

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FAGUR PROPAGANDA

now I will admit that I am biased, and therefore simply lean into it...

these two have been with me for a very long time, perhaps a decade and a half, and are some of the first schleich I ever had (at this point I've gathered maybe 200)

this old style of schleich I find so lovely, because they are realistic yet fantastical in a way that adds so much character to every figure

Fagur's rider is called Feya, and she also happens to be one of the cooler fairies imo. she's got a sick as tattoo up her leg, surely that counts for something? each bayala character comes in different models, and personally I adore every Feya!!

schleich differs from eg. papo in that every model is unique, however some of the bayala horses are based on other "regular" schleich (in Fagur's case, an Andalusian stallion). as a kid I decided that this was part of the lore - that each magical horse had a "shadow" that acted as an attendant and was part of the family

Fagur is an elder amongst the magical horses, speaks as clearly as any human (much like Bree, another horse to vote for), and is deeply respected by Feya, his shadow, and any who meet him. He's a protector, a spirit of spring, and more than worthy of your vote.

thank you for your time and much love

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#fht propaganda #I love these things I used to have so many as a kid #Group Evelyn propaganda

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Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Evelyn - Round 3