Liz Mermin is the director of a new horseracing documentary called “Horses” that takes documentary film making to a new level. Up until now, horse racing documentaries have been about horse racing fans who visit the tracks every year and how they feel disappointed or excited with loses and wins.

Also, horseracing documentaries usually portrait trainers and owners who share with fans the excitement and the disappointment as they watch their horses lose or win after months of training. Many horses become stars and others are forgotten, but no matter if they lose or are victorious, their stories have never been told up until now.

Liz Mermin’s documentary, which will be screened for the press on 26 January, follows the story of three Irish national hunt horses and their paths in the racing industry. Mermin has managed to make the three horses the leading actors, showing their personalities and telling the stories from their perspectives.

In “Horses”, jockeys and trainers are just part of the support cast and provide their opinions and views but, in general, the film is about what it is like to be a racehorse and everything an equine athlete must experience to compete. The documentary follows the horses during one year.

The stars in this horseracing documentary are Cuan Na Gra, a very nervous but powerful horse; Ardalan, who is a fascinating racehorse whose trainers care about; and Ioncol, a massive racehorse. Besides trainers and jockeys, who show in this film that they care about the horses and share their setbacks and victories, horseracing fans will meet the grooms and other members of the team who play an essential role.

Director Liz Mermin has managed to capture the essence and uniqueness in each horse. Besides telling a story, Mermin tried to answer important questions in the documentary, such as why horses run or if races and victories are as important to them as they are for trainers and jockeys.

“Horses” has the ability to get the audience involved into the film and make them forget that they are watching a film about racehorses. All horseracing fans should watch this documentary that gives a different view on the horse racing world and its true and real stars.