The Adventures of the Black Stallion

Adventures of The Black Stallion
Season 1 DVD cover
Genre	Adventure/Family
Starring	Mickey Rooney Richard Ian Cox
Theme music composer	Terry Frewer
Opening theme	We Know the Wind
Ending theme	We Know the Wind (instrumental)
Country of origin	Canada / France / New Zealand
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	78
Production
Executive producer(s)	Tom Parkinson
Producer(s)	Jonathan Hackett
Location(s)	Canada / France / New Zealand
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Alliance Communications Atlantique Productions
Release
Original network	The Family Channel YTV
Original release	September 15, 1990 – May 16, 1993
Chronology
Related shows	The Black Stallion The Black Stallion Returns

The Adventures of The Black Stallion is a television series that starred Mickey Rooney and Richard Ian Cox, as a trainer and a teenaged horse racer and was loosely based on the book series by Walter Farley. The series originally ran on The Family Channel and YTV from September 15, 1990 to May 16, 1993, before cancellation. It has since been shown in re-runs throughout the world. Mickey Rooney is the only original cast member from "The Black Stallion" to reprise his role in the show.

Most of the episodes are set around Canada. During the second and third season, the show moves away from the farm, and has many episodes set in New Zealand, Paris and the United States. The Adventures of The Black Stallion was a Canada/France/New Zealand co-production and was filmed on location in British Columbia, Canada, as well as France and New Zealand.

The show follows the life of fifteen-year-old horse racer Alec Ramsay (Richard Ian Cox), his wild stallion The Black, and their trainer Henry Dailey (Mickey Rooney). In the series, Alec's father died before the series start, leaving Alec and his mother to run Hopeful Farm. The show focuses both on life at Hopeful Farm and on the racing circuit. During the first season, most of the races are unprofessional circuit races and match races because The Black's an unpapered horse, meaning there is no proof of his lineage. During the second season, The Black's history is uncovered and Alec is able to obtain his papers, allowing him to be raced on the professional circuits around the world.

The series maintained that Alec was the only one who can ride The Black. He is known for having a violent temper with anyone besides Alec, though he does allow some people around the farm to hold his halter and lead him around, most notably Henry. He only seems to do grudgingly, however, and tends to be far less tolerant of others if Alec isn't around to keep him under control. To help keep the high-strung horse calm at the track, the gelding Napoleon is frequently taken on the road with them.