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An Awesome story of horses and healing

Shanna Spangler and Zach star in the Awesome Gal trailer.

By Bill Kovarik

Reggie feared horses.

The 17 year old girl came from an abusive family, and she was fine, mucking out stalls and doing chores — so long as the horses kept their distance.

Awesome Gal, a rescued Tennessee Walker, cowered in her stall whenever Reggie or other people came near. Awesome had also been abused.

Both girl and horse worked on a farm with Deborah Ring, who watched, over the winter months, as an unlikely friendship evolved.

“I think the turning point came when Reggie was cleaning manure from a field,” Ring said. “Reggie was approached by other horses, and turned and ran, jumping over the fence.” Awesome Gal saw the horses threatening Reggie and galloped over to protect her, Ring said.

“She kept them all away until (Reggie) was finished.” Reggie was grateful and awestruck. “That’s when the relationship flourished,” Ring said.

It sounds like a heartwarming movie about a difficult subject, and that’s exactly what Ring started thinking. “I’ve often thought movies should be more family friendly,” Ring said. “And here this story just landed in our laps.”

Ring, who now owns a horse farm on the outskirts of Radford, Virginia, started working with a script writer a few years after Reggie and Awesome started healing together.

That led to a trailer (posted here in the video stack) along with hopes for funding a full length feature movie. Ring reached out to Hollywood producers, and her son Cameron was making connections of his own in New York and Los Angeles. He’s an actor with IMDb credits that include Breaking Point (2017), Enemy of the Reich (2014) and The Last Train Home (2018).

One day Cameron was in a bar, met a director, and talked about the story. Then he sent a script. And even though this is a Hollywood story, with Radford roots, it’s not a Hollywood ending … yet. Money and commitment are not quite there.  

But it looks promising. The trailer won eight laurels for short subjects and trailers in 2019, including best trailer and best director in the LA Shorts Awards. The trailer stars Cameron Ring and Shanna Spangler and was directed by Frank M. Calo of FMC Productions, LLC. Even Zack the horse might look familiar — he has appeared in Lincoln and Gods & Generals.

There’s an important message in the film about “soring.” According to the Humane Society, soring is the abusive practice of inflicting pain on a horse’s hooves so that they will lift them up from the ground and exaggerate their gaits. Tennessee walking horses are particular targets of the practice which, although illegal, is used frequently in horse rings in the Southeastern region.

“These people are just brutal,” Deborah Ring says. “My mission is to end the horrific practice of soring that Awesome endured. Though I cannot change Awesome’s past, I can change the future for thousands of other horses suffering the same abuse by telling her amazing story. This touching account will expose the dark side of the Tennessee Walking Horse industry and inspire anyone struggling through hardships.”

Her mission is also to tell a great human story.

“It’s a message of hope and healing,” said Ring. And it’s coming to a screen near you.

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