''The White Horses'' is a 1965 television series co-produced by RTV Ljubljana (now

RTV Slovenija Radiotelevizija Slovenija ( en, Radio-Television of Slovenia) – usually abbreviated to RTV Slovenija (or simply RTV within Slovenia) – is Slovenia's national public broadcasting organization. Based in Ljubljana, it has regional broadcastin ...

) of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and German TV (''Südwestfunk'').

Plotline

The story follows the adventures of a teenage girl Julia (

Helga Anders Helga Anders (11 January 1948 – 30 March 1986) was an Austrian actress. She was born Helga Scherz in Innsbruck, to an Austrian father and a German mother, and she grew up in Ruhpolding and Bielefeld after her parents divorced. She made her ...

) who leaves

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

to spend a holiday on a

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, documentation o ...

run by her Uncle Dimitri (

Helmuth Schneider Helmuth Schneider (18 December 1920 – 17 March 1972) was a German actor. Schneider portrayed the role of Uncle Dimitri in ''The White Horses''. He died in a traffic accident in Rio de Janeiro in 1972. Selected filmography *1944: '' Dr ...

), where with the help of head groom Hugo (

Franz Muxeneder Franz Muxeneder (19 October 1920 - 3 January 1988) was an Austrian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1948 to 1987. Muxeneder is best known in Great Britain for his part in the Yugoslav-German television series ''The White Hor ...

), white

Lipizzaner The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner ( hr, Lipicanac, cz, Lipicán, hu, Lipicai, it, Lipizzano, sr, Lipicaner, sl, Lipicanec), is a European breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroque type, and i ...

horses are raised. In the first episode, stallion Boris is stolen by

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

who dye his white coat brown so that no one will recognise him. Julia and Hugo set off to find Boris and upon his recovery an affinity is formed between girl and horse.

Transmission

The series, called ''Počitnice v Lipici'' in Slovenian and ''Ferien in Lipizza'' ("Holidays in

Lipica Lipica may refer to several places: Poland *Lipica, Poland, a village in the Province of Warmia-Masuria Serbia *Lipica (Tutin), a village in the Municipality of Tutin Slovenia *Lipica (border crossing), a border crossing near Lipica betw ...

") in German, comprised thirteen 25-minute black and white episodes. A dubbed version was broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1968, and repeated for many years afterwards, the last showing taking place early in January 1978. The dubbed soundtracks were long thought lost, but audio tapes of twelve of the thirteen episodes have been located.

Theme song

The theme song to the German version was played by

Ivo Robić Ivo Robić (28 January 1923 – 9 March 2000) was a Croatian singer-songwriter. Domestic career Robić began his career as a soloist with the Radio Zagreb Orchestra, while studying at the same time in Zagreb. He performed during World War II o ...

. The UK theme song - written by Michael Carr and Ben Nisbet and later back dubbed onto all versions, was simply titled "White Horses", and credited to "Jacky" - was sung by

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born Jackie Lee. It became a top 10 hit in the UK charts in April 1968. The book ''The Penguin Television Companion'' claimed it to be the best television theme in history. It has been copied and used many times since, including: *The theme was covered in 1968 by

Claudine Longet Claudine Georgette Longet (born 29 January 1942) is a Franco-American singer, actress, dancer, and recording artist popular during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to American singer and television entertainer Andy ...

, as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to the single "Nothing to Lose". *

Trixie's Big Red Motorbike Trixie's Big Red Motorbike was an indie pop band formed on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, in 1981. They released two singles, one EP and one flexi disc. A vinyl compilation album of their music called ''The Intimate Sound of Trixie’s Bi ...

covered the song on their second

John Peel session John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

in 1983. * Scottish female group Sophisticated Boom Boom covered the song in 1982 on their Peel Session. *

Jamie Wednesday Jamie Wednesday were a British 1980s jangle pop band, formed in Streatham, South London in 1984,Strong, Martin C.: "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", 1999, Canongate, that released eight songs on two records between 1985 and 1986. Pre ...

recorded the track for their EP "Vote for Love" in 1987. * The Trashcan Sinatras featured a version of the song on their EP ''Circling the Circumference'' (1990) *The English band

Kitchens of Distinction Kitchens of Distinction (sometimes shortened colloquially to KOD) are an English three-person alternative rock band formed in Tooting, South London, in 1986. They released four studio albums and a handful of singles and EPs before disbanding ...

recorded a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of the theme song during the sessions for what would be their final album, '' Cowboys and Aliens'' (1994). The song was first released in the UK as a

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

on the album's first single, "Now It's Time to Say Goodbye"; it was later released in the US as a b-side on the album's title track *

Morwenna Banks Tamsin Morwenna Banks (born 20 September 1961) is a British comedy actress, writer and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show '' Absolutely'', and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film ''The Announcemen ...

released a cover version in 1995 as her '' Absolutely'' character, ''The Little Girl''. *The film '' Me Without You'' (2001) used the Jacky "stereo" version on its opening credits, and a version by Lucy Street during the end credits *

Cerys Matthews Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the " Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews programmes an ...

performed the song on the compilation '' Songs for the Young at Heart'' (2007) *The theme was covered by

Dean and Britta Dean & Britta is a musical duo consisting of Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, both former members of Luna. Wareham had formed Luna in 1991 after leaving his first band, Galaxie 500. Phillips joined Luna in 2000, replacing bassist Justin Harwo ...

on their album ''

Back Numbers ''Back Numbers'' is the second album by Dean & Britta, released in 2007. Track listing All tracks by Dean & Britta except where noted. # "Singer Sing" – 4:15 # "Words You Used to Say" – 4:21 # "Wait for Me" – 3:40 # "You Turned My He ...

'' (2007) *The theme was covered by Andrea Ross on her album ''

Moon River "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie ''Breakfast at Tiffany's (film), Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original ...

'' (2007) *The theme was covered by

Mari Wilson Mari Macmillan Ramsay Wilson (born 29 September 1954, Neasden, London) is a British pop and jazz singer. She is best known for her 1982 UK top-10 hit single "Just What I Always Wanted" and her 1960s image complete with beehive hairstyle. Care ...

on her album Pop Deluxe (2016)

References

External links

televisionheaven on the programmeBBC on the programme A fan-site about the series
* {{DEFAULTSORT:White Horses, The 1966 Yugoslav television series debuts 1967 Yugoslav television series endings 1960s Yugoslav television series 1966 German television series debuts 1967 German television series endings Das Erste original programming German children's television series German-language television shows Television series about horses