Celebrating Our 20th Anniversary!
by Alex Billington
June 2, 2026
Source: YouTube
“The world is very good at making people feel small. You’re not afraid to be yourself.” 🐴 Sumerian has debuted an official trailer for an indie film titled Horsegirls, a coming-of-age dramedy marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Lauren Meyering. This first premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival last summer, and it’s opening in limited theaters starting in July this summer. After her mother’s illness returns, 22-year-old Margarita, a young woman with autism, discovers the world of hobbyhorsing and sets out to prove her independence to her mother—stick horse and all. Hobbyhorsing is the gymnastic “sport” of riding a stick horse around. Similar movement sequences to those also featured in show jumping or dressage are partly simulated in courses, without real horses being used. It was actually popularized in Selma Vilhunen’s 2017 doc film Hobbyhorse Revolution (Keppihevosten vallankumous). Horsegirls stars Lillian Carrier as Margarita, with Gretchen Mol as her mom Sandy, plus Jerrod Haynes, Tony Hale, Matthew Schwab, and Iqbal Theba. This looks amusing and wholesome – a good story about finding joy and holding onto it.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Lauren Meyering’s film Horsegirls, direct from YouTube:
As her mom Sandy (Gretchen Mol) grapples with an uncertain diagnosis, autistic 22-year-old Margarita (a revelatory Lillian Carrier) must reluctantly grow up. Bogged down by the demands of her new job at a Halloween store and the complications surrounding her mom’s illness, Margarita discovers a competitive hobby horse dance team — a sport in which young athletes mimic equestrian activities such as jumping and galloping by utilizing a stick horse — thoring herself entirely into training. Encouraged by her coach (Jerod Haynes), her mom and her community, Margarita begins to gain confidence as she grows into her independence and looks forward to her next chapter. Horsegirls is written and directed by American indie filmmaker Lauren Meyering, directing her first feature film after making many other short films and the “Max and Mandy” previously. Based on a story by Mackenzie Breeden. Produced by Alix Madigan, Michael Sherman, Mackenzie Breeden. This initially premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival last year. Sumerian debuts Meyering’s Horsegirls film in select US theaters starting July 17th, 2026 this summer. Intrigued?
