Tanbark and Turf (1955)

• 63%
• 1955
• Documentary

A narrator takes us to the world of harness racing and show horses, vestiges of Victorian elegance and of horse and buggy days. At a country track in Aiken, South Carolina, a slow-motion camera discloses the differences between trotters and pacers. We learn about sulkies, stripped-down for racing. A young horse has his first day in the traces; a blacksmith puts heavy shoes on him to teach him to lift his knees high, a show-horse necessity. We watch one, then a pair, then a quartet move with synchronized grace and beauty. A woman takes one out for a buggy ride, and we end with a salute to the arched neck, up-flung knee, and graceful movement of the show horse.