Clydesdale: Saving the Greatest Horse Wins at Yorkton Film Festival
An emotional story about the iconic Clydesdale horse, and the race to save it from extinction in the very place it was created – Scotland - won the Documentary POV category at the Yorkton Film Festival on Thursday night.
The film is produced by Infield Fly Productions and Stream Scotland and was made for CBC documentary Channel and BBC Scotland. It follows the journey of celebrated Glaswegian designer, Janice Kirkpatrick, who goes on a mission to alter the future of the historic Clydesdale breed.
Janice Kirkpatrick in Scott, Saskatchewan searching for the perfect black Clydesdale to bring back to Scotland
“Ross and I are thrilled that the documentary has won such a prestigious award. We’ve celebrated sharing a bag of carrots with the horses!,” says Kirkpatrick.
“The reaction to the film has been amazing and 100% positive. I’ve been inundated with offers of support and help from wonderful people all over the world—from Canada and the UK and from folks who’ve heard about the documentary in the USA, Australia, Scandinavia and New Zealand.”
The Clydesdale horse is famed for its white-feathered feet and for hauling Budweiser beer. But it also played a key role in both the agricultural and industrial revolutions.
Once, there were thousands of Clydesdales roaming the famous Clyde Valley near Glasgow. Now, they’re all but gone. The horse was once so valuable the Scots sold them all over the world – thousands shipped to Canada. The most sought after were the pure blacks.
In Clydesdale: Saving The Greatest Horse, Janice traces the bloodlines of the Scottish Clydesdale to the Canadian Prairies and brings a pregnant black mare back to Glasgow.
In an extraordinary journey from the hills of Scotland to the heart of Saskatchewan, Janice uncovers the true story of the Clydesdale horse, and traces a Canadian family who’ve protected the ancient black Clydesdale bloodlines for five generations.
It takes Janice two years to complete her quest. Not only does it test her in ways she never expected, but it also alters her life forever and changes the destiny of an entire breed.
“The reaction to the documentary has been tremendous,” says producer and writer Dugald Maudsley of Infield fly Productions. “The Clydesdale is an amazing breed and the fact that it is dying out in the place where it was created, packs a punch.”
Clydesdale: Saving The Greatest Horse is airing on documentary Channel at 9 pm on Friday 4 June. It is also available on CBC Gem. Check out the free webisode series about Janice Kirkpatrick and her relationship with the Clydesdale at savingthegreatesthorse.com