FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES APRIL 2014 51
By Kayla Starnes
Launching a new career is always tough, but starting one
during the worst recession since the Great Depression is
uniquely daunting. Yet, 2008 – the early days of the economic
downturn – is exactly when Cindy Meehl, a mother of two college-
aged daughters, chose to pursue filmmaking. It was an industry
with which she had no background, and not the most typical of
profession for someone to jump into mid-life. But then, Cindy has
never been typical. And, turns out, she had an award-winning
idea.
First Comes Fashion
Cindy’s first career was as a dress designer in New York City
during her twenties, where she eventually developed her own
label. She saw her clothing in retailers like Bergdorf Goodman,
Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus. However, just as her star
was rising, Cindy willingly left New York for her next adventure –
motherhood.
“The fashion business was honestly not my cup of tea,” she
explained. “I was doing very well in it, gaining ground in high-
end stores. But, I found that success was impeding my creativity,
because I was handling so much of the business part of it.
“I was at a moment in my career where people really wanted to
fund me and go on a much larger scale. That was the awakening
moment, where I asked myself if that was what I wanted my life
to be.”
For Cindy, the answer was no. Instead, she got married – yes,
she designed her own wedding dress – and moved to a farm in
Connecticut. There, she spent two decades happily raising two
daughters and painting for her creative outlet.
Then Comes Horses
When Cindy’s children were young, she found added time to
enjoy activities from her childhood. One was horseback riding,
which she decided to get serious about. So, she set out to learn
more about it. That led her to a horse-training clinic taught by Buck
Brannaman. The clinician is best known as the incredible horseman
who was the inspiration for
The Horse Whisperer
novel and his
work as a consultant on the 1998 film of the same name.
“When I sawBuck, and started learning his type of horsemanship,
it resonated as so much more of a truth with the animal,” said
Cindy. “This is how the horse wants to be taught, this is how they
understand. Then, it becomes a dialogue between me and them,
not just me plowing through with my expectations and demands
on them. As an animal lover, that fact was astounding to me.”
The experience wasn’t just about horses for Cindy, though. She
found that Buck’s lessons also translated very well into how to
treat people. It was something that resonated even deeper with
her when she learned from his book,
The Faraway Horses
, that
Buck is a survivor of child abuse. That insight set her creative
juices flowing once again, making her ready when the perfect
opportunity presented itself at a clinic in Belton, Texas in 2008.
“One evening at a dinner for the riders and Buck, I heard Buck
talking about turning his book,
The Faraway Horses
, into a film. At
the time, I couldn’t help thinking that there was nobody who could
play him and do him justice. Buck is a very unique character and
also, most importantly, no one can handle horses like he does. No
actor could change a horse as quickly as Buck can do.
“The idea came to me in that moment that somebody should
film the real guy, and audiences should see the real person. Three
months later, I was at another clinic, and the thought had just not
gone away. It was really burning a hole in my heart that somebody
should do it. I had not even had a film class, and here I was,
thinking about making a film.”
Cindy worked up the courage to approach Buck about her
documentary idea that weekend, and was both relieved and
terrified when he agreed to allow her to pursue it. His phone
number in hand, the novice film director set about gathering the
Buck during the filming of the documentary.
Buck puts his horse through a maneuver on set.
