Doc Soup: The Cowboy and the Queen

An iconic British monarch with a lifelong love of horses and a renegade California cowboy forge the most unlikely friendship—and fulfill shared goals of finding a better way to be with animals, and a kinder way to be in the world—in the eloquent, enlightening documentary The Cowboy and the Queen, from Academy Award-nominated and Emmy award-winning filmmaker Andrea Nevins.

 

The film tells the story of Monty Roberts, a horse trainer whose revolutionary way of “breaking” horses through gentleness made him a pariah in his industry. Emerging from an abusive childhood in the 1930s and ‘40s, Roberts’ own struggles led to his becoming what would later be known as a “horse whisperer”—a style that sought to change the centuries-old way of “breaking horses” through violence and cruelty. At a moment when he was facing the latest in a series of challenges, Roberts was summoned to England by Queen Elizabeth II to train horses in the British royal family’s stable. The two began a friendship that included Roberts and his wife staying at Buckingham Palace several times each year‚ and a professional partnership through Roberts’ bestselling books, that lasted until the Queen’s death in 2022. At her funeral, Roberts traveled from his home in Solvang, California, to mourn his friend alongside presidents, heads of state, prime ministers, and dignitaries.

 

While telling the story of this extraordinary friendship in The Cowboy and the Queen, Nevins (Hysterical; Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie; The Other F Word; Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies) celebrates Roberts’ view that kindness and connection are more powerful than brutality, and that openness and communication can bridge worlds, if given the chance.

 

Please note: Some brief scenes depict horses in abusive situations and may be distressing.