''Virginia's Run'' is a 2002 Canadian-American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Peter Markle Peter Markle (born September 24, 1952) is an American film director, television director and screenwriter. He has directed episodes of ''Everwood'', ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''The X-Files'', as well as many other programs. He was dir ...

and starring Lindze Letherman, Rachel Skarsten, and

Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy L ...

. It was filmed in

Shelburne, Nova Scotia Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. History Shelburne lies at the southwest corner of Nova Scotia, at roughly the same latitude as Portland, Maine, in the United States. The Mi'kmaq people, Mi'kmaq call the large an ...

. The original screenplay was written by Valarie Trapp about her maternal grandmother, Virginia.

Plot

Virginia Lofton is a 13-year-old girl living with her older sister Caroline and their father Ford. Deborah, the mother of Virginia and Caroline, was killed three years earlier after a fall in a riding accident. Ford has sold their horse, Twister, to a neighbor and forbidden his daughters from riding in an effort to keep them safe. Ford and Caroline both blame Twister for Deborah's death. Twister dies in childbirth while she delivers a foal and Virginia names the foal Stormy. Virginia sneaks out to care for Stormy and ride him at night. The owner, Blake, tries to train Stormy to race for his son Darrow, who is also Caroline's boyfriend, but the horse doesn't get along well with him. Blake decides to sell Stormy and Virginia is heartbroken. Ford is able to track down the person who bought Stormy and he buys him back to give to Virginia as a birthday present. Virginia has started working with one of Blake's trainers, Jessie. Virginia tells her how much she loves horses and how riding them is a way to remember her mom. After trying to reason with him Ford explains to Jessie that he's trying to protect Virginia. Jessie tries to get Ford to understand that by not letting Virginia ride, he is only crushing her spirit. Ford realizes that Deborah wouldn't have wanted him to stop riding or to keep Virginia away from horses. He starts riding with Virginia and giving her lessons. There is a race on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

and he thinks that she and Stormy are ready. Virginia is riding by herself and she comes across Darrow riding with his buddies. He challenges her to a race to the train tracks and Virginia barely makes it, missing the train by a few feet. Darrow realizes that she is a better rider and that he needs to do something to prevent her from beating him in the race. He and his buddies kidnap Stormy. When Virginia finds out that Stormy is missing, she is distraught. Her father believes that Stormy has just escaped, but she tells her sister that she believes Darrow stole him. Caroline thinks that she can find out what happened by coming on to one of his friends, who tells her where to find Stormy. Virginia finds Stormy and gets to the town square where the race is about to begin. The race officials refuse to let her race because she is late, but after the crowd starts chanting, "Let Virginia Ride! Let Virginia Ride!" she is allowed to participate. She starts out behind but catches up to the pack. Darrow was in the lead since the beginning, but when he sees Virginia he resorts to cheating. He knocks her off her horse and then hides a trail marker flag, so she will get lost. When she can't figure out which way to go by looking at her map, Stormy knows she is lost and he tells her which way to go. She catches up to Darrow again and wins the race. Darrow's father convinces the MC to disqualify Virginia for some vague and unspecified violation and Darrow tries to accept the trophy. Virginia notices something in his pocket and tells Caroline to check it out. She sneaks up to him and pulls out the flag. He is disqualified for cheating and Virginia accepts the trophy while two men from the audience toss the MC into a

water trough A water trough (British English, British terminology), or track pan (American English, American terminology), is a device to enable a steam locomotive to replenish its water supply while in motion. It consists of a long trough filled with water, ...

. At home, the family is eating dinner with Jessie. Blake has fired Jessie and Caroline has broken up with Darrow. Virginia comments that they are happier than they have been in a long time. She walks outside to feed Stormy and knows she would not won the race if not for memories of her mother.

Cast

External links

* * {{Peter Markle 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films 2000s coming-of-age drama films 2000s English-language films 2002 drama films 2002 films 2002 independent films American coming-of-age drama films American independent films Canadian coming-of-age drama films Canadian independent films English-language Canadian films English-language independent films Films about horses Films directed by Peter Markle Films scored by Nicholas Pike Films shot in Nova Scotia

Plot

Cast

See also

External links