52 SIDELINES APRIL 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
crew and equipment needed to start her first project.
“It was a huge task. I don’t think anyone will ever realize how
huge it was,” she said. “However, I had a clear vision of what I
wanted to say and how to say it. It was important to me that this
was ultimately about the horses and raising people’s awareness
about how to treat them and other people.”
Cindy adds that the bleak mood of the country as it entered a
deep recession was a big motivating factor for how she envisioned
the film when work commenced in 2008 and continued for the
next few years. Politics aside, she just wanted to make something
uplifting.
“Everything I saw on TV and in films was really dark,” she
explains. “There was a financial crisis going on, so I wanted to do
something that would inspire some hope.”
Accolades For
Buck
Upon its premiere, audiences immediately responded to Cindy’s
film. Named
Buck
, it shot to instant fame when it won the 2011
Sundance Film Festival’s coveted Audience Award for a U.S.
documentary, which is voted on by viewers.
“It was a really special award, because it meant that people
who went to those theaters thought it was their favorite American
documentary,” said Cindy. “It meant we did reach people.”
At Sundance, she said
Buck
also received nine standing
ovations in ten sold-out screenings.
“From the first time we showed the film, we had people clamoring
over it. That was really rewarding. I had worked two-and-a-half
years non-stop, and you really never know what you’ve got until
you show it to an audience.”
Watching her film debut to the crowds was a nervous time for
Cindy, who described the experience.
“You’re sitting on pins-and-needles. You go into Sundance to a
packed theater and are biting your nails wondering if people like it.
“As the film is shown, you hear them laugh, you hear them
sniffle and cry. I thought, ‘Well, that’s good. They’re laughing in
the right spots!’”
Cindy admits she entered the festival scene without any frame
of reference. Armed with a single how-to book about navigating
the events, and her very seasoned and supportive production
team; she simply dove into Sundance. She laughed when she
recalled the experience, with its lack of sleep and the bidding war
that ensued to buy her film.
“I kept asking if this was all normal, and was told absolutely not!”
For example, it is not normal to bump into an enthusiastic
Robert Redford, who makes an appearance in the film.
“He was excited about
Buck
; since he is a long-time fan and
friend of Buck, and his horsemanship. He actually came to the
after-party after the first screening. I thought my mother was going
to fall over, sitting across from Robert Redford.”
Cindy’s little movie that could has won more than 40 film festival
laurels, awards and honors to date since that debut, and launched
one very bright career. It also did exactly what Meehl set out to
do—encourage others.
“I’m a film-maker by default, almost,” she said. “I became
a film-maker strictly because I felt like I could help people. To
me, ultimately, that is what life it all about—helping people and
raising people up. I feel like we live in a world that is so cynical and
sometimes dark, which makes it really important to give people
hope and inspiration. That’s why I have a great fondness for Buck,
and what he is doing with horses.”
Cindy has been flooded with feedback from viewers who have
embraced
Buck
.
“I get such beautiful letters frompeople who really understand the
message. However, everyone does get something a bit different
from it. It might mean something different to someone who had
an abusive childhood than from someone who is struggling with
their horse or child. It is very interesting how it affects people in so
many different ways. I’m really blessed by those letters. I’m really
happy that people seem to get that it was a real labor of love.”
Follow Your Heart
With more than 320 hours of footage condensed into an
88-minute film, Cindy realized she had a lot of great knowledge left
unseen. While
Buck
was intended for all audiences, the filmmaker
felt she had more to say specifically to equestrians. So, her team
created a seven-disc educational series that details Brannaman’s
methods from the remaining footage, called
7 Clinics With Buck
Brannaman
. The series hit store shelves fall 2012.
“Obviously, I am very passionate about the horse stuff. When
we did test screenings in New York for
Buck
, the audience kept
telling us to cut the horse training scenes. If you had a horse, they
were fascinating. If not, they could be a big yawn. As we were
cutting those scenes, I was dying.”
Some of that cut footage and much more has made its way into
7 Clinics
.
“I asked myself what I would want to see,” said Cindy. “I’ve
been to Buck’s clinics, and know how overwhelming they can be
because of how much information he gives you.”
So, she started noting advice and exercises that she referenced
back to when working with her own horses. Eventually, broader
topics came together into complete lessons, which then turned
into the series.
“This, to me, is the way training should be done. What I put in
7
Clinics
, I believe, will astound people with the results they will get.
I don’t care what type of riding you do, Buck’s tools can take you
much farther than you ever dreamed.”
Cindy has always ridden hunters, jumpers and dressage. She
was amazed at how a Western cowboy completely changed her
approach to the way she handles her horses.
Unknowingly, Cindy has become an inspiration to others in hard
economic times through her tale of mid-life reinvention. However,
this mother of two only expected her daughters to be watching,
and wanted to honestly live what she had taught them growing up.
“I tell my kids to be passionate about whatever they decide to
do, and to follow their heart. You better love it, because that is
what you do most of your day. Whatever you decide to do will take
up most of your waking hours. I know that has definitely been true
for me since I took up film-making!”
Gathering the horses for a Buck Brannaman clinic.
