1979
- Combined Driving is added to the United States Equestrian Team’s
(USET) roster of international equestrian sports. Prior to this, the Olympic
disciplines of show jumping, dressage and eventing are the only ones under
USET’s jurisdiction. - The first reports of what we now know as Potomac Horse
Fever appeared this year. Happily, there is now a vaccination available to
treat this disease, which was named for the area around the Potomac River in Maryland where it was
first discovered. - Horse lovers and film buffs swooned at the film adaptation
of The Black Stallion that was released this year. Fewer people swooned over
another horse movie released in 1979: Wild Horse Hank, the story of a teenage
girl who saves a herd of Mustangs from a gang of poachers intent on capturing
the horses to sell them for meat.
Go back to the Horse Illustrated 35th Anniversary main page.
I love The Black Stallion and Wild Horse Hank!
This clip brought back wonderful memories of sitting at home when I was a little kid pretending the chair was a horse – I would rock the chair back and forth to simulate a horse running.