https://horseyhooves.com/national-velvet-movie-facts/
I looked up to see who was ET double, but she did most of her riding I guess.
Sadly, mostly filmed in CA: And 'The Pie' was a chestnut (truth in plain sight)
"The story that Mi (played by Mickey Rooney) tells to Donald Brown (played by Jackie ‘Butch’ Jenkins) about a shipwrecked horse is based on a true story about a New Zealand-bred thoroughbred named “Moiffa” who did in fact survive his ordeal and went on to win the Grand National the following year."
https://wikilivre.org/culture/did-eliza ... al-velvet/