May 31, 2016 
It’s no secret that many an Irish are born with horses in their veins. At ages when most children are learning to ride bicycles with training wheels, these youngsters are already well adjusted to the ways of the saddle and the needs of a horse. While this fertile land is famous for cultivating world class horse flesh, it procures just as many handy horsemen. Over along Ireland’s rural west coast, kids aspire to be jockeys, not footballers, and their baptism-by-bloodstock begins well before they reach puberty.
12-year-old Dylan is one such lad. He’s been galloping thoroughbreds for years and is ready to take his passion to the next level. His dreams are big, so too is his spirit, however small he may be. So undersized is the boy that when he races he has to carry an extra five stones of lead.
This 5 minute short directed by Jonny Madderson tells Dylan’s story as he prepares for the most important race of his young life, and it’s amazing. The sights, the sounds, the horses—it’s legitimately breathtaking.
So take 5 and enjoy:
There’s so much to love about this film. From the I ♥ Girls mug, to the accents, the stunning landscape and of course, horses racing on the beach. After a couple minutes it feels like you’re watching a Wes Anderson movie. But it’s Dylan himself that makes this production so compelling. His outlook and attitude are well beyond his years.
On competition:
“If ya get beat, ya get beat, and ya just havta take yer beatin’.”
Is that a line from The Soldier’s Song? Because it should be. And you have to appreciate the fact that he draws inspiration from, of all things, Rocky IV:
“[Rocky] was fightin’ the Russian…he gets knocked down a few times and then he comes back and knocks him out…I know it’s a movie but it gives ya a good will to never give up and keep goin’.”
Amen, laddy.
