Hidalgo (film) - Fact and Fiction

Fact and Fiction

The Native American historian Vine Deloria questioned Hopkins' claims of Lakota ancestry.

Based on Hopkins' account of his mixed-race ancestry, the movie production employed Lakota historians, medicine men, and tribal leaders to be on set during every aspect of representing their culture. Many of the same Ghost Dancers who reenact the sacred ceremony of 1890 in Hidalgo had participated in the film Thunderheart (1992) and the mini-series Dreamkeeper, both written by Fusco. The screenwriter was adopted as a relative of the Oglala Nation in a Hunkyapi ceremony (Making of Relatives) on September 3, 1989 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Because the Disney Corporation marketed the movie as a true story, some historians criticized it both because of the legendary status of Hopkins' claims and for its divergence from his accounts. They contend many of the events, especially the featured race, never took place. Historians of distance riding said that most of Hopkins' claims as depicted in the film, including the race, have been 'tall tales' or hoaxes.

The film says that descendants of the horse Hidalgo, for which the movie was named, live among the Gilbert Jones herd of Spanish Mustangs on Blackjack Mountain in Oklahoma. By Hopkins' original account, he decided to leave his horse in Arabia after the race.

In 2006, John Fusco, the screenwriter of Hidalgo, responded to criticism about the factual basis of the film. He had done research on Hopkins for years and said that he used parts of Hopkins' 1891 desert memoirs (unpublished during the rider's lifetime) and "heightened the 'Based On' story to create an entertaining theatrical film." He held that the story of the man and his horse is true. Fusco offered quotes from surviving friends of Hopkins, notably former distance riders Walt and Edith Pyle, and Lt Col William Zimmerman, along with information found in horse history texts, as verification.

According to the Longriders Guild, the Yemen Government, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabian Government say officially that there has never been an "Ocean of Fire" race. Hopkins never named the event; he referred to it in his writings as an annual ceremonial ride in the region. According to the Arab historian Dr. Awad al-Badi, such a lengthy race was impossible. He said,

"There is no record or reference to Hopkins with or without his mustangs ever having set foot on Arabian soil. The idea of a historic long-distance Arab horse race is pure nonsense and flies against all reason. Such an event in Arabia any time in the past is impossible simply from a technical, logistical, cultural and geopolitical point of view. It has never been part of our rich traditions and equestrian heritage."