Barbie & Her Sisters in A Pony Tale 2013

Barbie Kelly Sheridan and the girls arrive at the Alpine Riding academy, a place tucked beneath the towering Matterhorn and ringed by expansive fields and pine-studded woods that roll up into the high Alps. The grounds look nearly empty, and the quiet feels strangely unfinished, as if the school is waiting for a spark to come back to life. Chelsea [Ashlyn Drummond] is bursting with eagerness to ride a big horse right away, but Barbie says they’ll have all month to explore the stables and get comfortable. Stacy [Claire Margaret Corlett] is buzzing with ambition too, determined to show she can ride as well as Barbie and Skipper, especially with Barbie eyeing a major steeplechase race back in Malibu. Barbie, carrying a sense of purpose, hopes to find a solid horse to bring back with her, and Aunt Marlene’s blessing helps amplify their plan.

Aunt Marlene [Alex Kelly] greets them warmly, and her two children, Max [Maxine Miller] and Marie [Shannon Chan-Kent], help with the inevitable bustle of unpacking. The sisters head straight to the stables to meet the horses, where Chelsea and Stacy, new to riding, are told to let the horses pick them rather than choosing, while Barbie can rely on her own expertise to select a mount. The stables hum with the quiet energy of horseflesh and the occasional stamp of a hoof. Chelsea longs for a bigger challenge, but the only animal that pays attention to her is a small pony named Dash, which she reluctantly rejects. Pepper, a feisty mare, shows a clear preference for Stacie, buckling in with her usual bold confidence. In the paddock, Etienne—Monsieur Etienne, the school’s resident steeplechase instructor—storms in over something as trivial as ear warmers the horses wore, his mood raw and volatile. Marlene tries to reassure Barbie that Etienne’s moodiness is a fixture rather than a warning.

Barbie wanders the stables and spots a stallion who seems promising, only to be left uncertain. Stacie attempts a mount, but her speed and swagger clash with Pepper’s temperament, sending her into the mud in a shower of splashes. Skipper, meanwhile, has wandered off with her tablet to capture some footage of the grounds, and she ends up filming Stacie’s tumble from a safe distance. Three young riders arrive on horseback—among them Theo—who immediately catches Skipper’s eye with a playful flirtation, calling her “tech girl” and then pranking his friends by having his image altered into a monkey. Skipper, for her part, finds the moment amusing and intriguing, and the spark between them begins to light up a new current of interest.

Aunt Marlene explains that Alpine hasn’t won an inter-school competition in over eleven years, which helps explain the academy’s dwindling enrollment. Barbie and her sisters decide to pitch in, while Etienne and the younger girls begin some riding instruction under his watchful eye. The ride through the forest is meant to be a calm, scenic experience, but Etienne insists on a controlled pace to prevent accidents in the trees, a choice that both disappoints Barbie and tests the students’ patience. During this quiet ride, Barbie notices a magnificent horse, white with a pinkish streak in its mane and silvery markings, standing by a waterfall. The horse seems to vanish when she tries to point it out, leaving only a sense of wonder in its wake.

Later that night, Barbie wanders the paddock and discovers a sign painted above Alpine’s entrance that echoes the horse she glimpsed—a heraldic creature that resembles the same markings she saw earlier. In a moment of quiet, she hears a soft French lullaby and realizes Etienne is singing to calm the horses. He explains that the legend behind the sign is a Swiss breed called the Majestique—large, powerful, loyal horses once said to protect Swiss princesses. Etienne says the Majestique are thought to be myths, like mermaids or fairies, yet he once believed in them as a child. Barbie isn’t entirely convinced they are myth, but before she can press the point further, a short, stout man barges into Etienne’s office with hostility, scolding him for believing in the Majestique. This man is Phillippe [Peter Kelamis], Etienne’s brother and the riding master at Chateau Montagne, and their family rivalry—rooted in long-ago grievances—is plainly etched on their faces as they trade accusations.

Back in the paddock, Stacie’s bravado continues to clash with Pepper’s temperament, while Chelsea’s flirtation with the idea of riding a larger horse lingers in the air. Barbie rides off alone on Finnean, her chosen horse, in search of the mysterious mare she glimpsed earlier. The forest path turns perilous when a pack of gray wolves corners Barbie and Finnean, threatening to ambush them. Just in time, the mysterious white mare arrives, leaps over a fallen log, and uses her size and strength to fend off the wolves with powerful kicks. Barbie escapes to the safety of Alpine’s grounds, while the white mare disappears back into the woods. The next day, the weathered mare reappears in Barbie’s thoughts as she grows more convinced that Majesty exists, not just as a fantasy.

Barbie trains her eye on Majesty again, but the big horse is soon found trapped in a rockfall. Barbie frees the mare and treats a minor injury to her leg, yet a tangle of pink hair on a fence nail betrays someone’s mischief. Phillippe discovers the hair and realizes he is on the right track, while Etienne continues his patient training with the other girls, teaching Stacie to respect Pepper as a living, feeling partner rather than a tool to be used. Barbie, with Etienne’s gentle song to soothe the anxious horse, telegraphs a bond forming between rider and steed—even if the rest of the academy remains skeptical.

As the first competition day arrives, the junior rider Dash wins the Pony Parade in a glittering display, and Theo earns a high score in dressage with Skipper watching and sharing a moment of mutual respect with him away from the teasing of his peers. Stacie and Pepper’s routine is steady but not perfect; Pepper spooks at a jump, and Stacie must reassure her, landing in a respectable second place that still leaves Alpine in a strong position in the overall standings. The gala evening brings a dance between Theo and Skipper, while Etienne confronts Phillippe about a prior incident—though the two men can’t help but trade quips and insults even as the night unfolds.

Chelsea’s determination to ride a big horse pushes her to take one more crack at the paddock, hoping to conquer her fear and prove she belongs among the bigger mounts. The chance ends badly when Chelsea’s bold move spooks a horse, causing a chain reaction that leads to a fence collapse and a chaotic scatter of horses. Etienne tries to rescue her, but the horse throws him, breaking his arm. Chelsea is knocked unconscious but awakes relatively unscathed, apologetic for the trouble she caused.

With Alpine suddenly short on horses, Phillippe taunts the school about withdrawing from the second day of competition. Theo, ever resourceful and brave, returns with Barbie, Stacy, and Skipper to track the missing mounts and call in the herd. They discover Majesty leading a joined group of horses, herds, and the trail of hoofprints through the woods, revealing the Majestique’s existence to the world. Barbie thanks Majesty for returning again, but Phillippe’s ambitions loom large as he arrives with his horse Hugo and vows to capture the Majestique for profit. Barbie reminds him that Alpine still belongs to Marlene’s family, not to a future buyer, and Phillippe reveals that Etienne’s arm injuries will keep him out of the steeplechase, tipping the scales in Chateau Montagne’s favor.

To save Alpine, Barbie makes a bold choice: she reveals Majesty to the world in the competition. The crowd roars as Majesty steps onto the course, though the cameras’ clicks threaten to spook her. Philippe tries to sabotage the race by slashing saddles and using his riding crop to rough up the other riders, hoping to push Alpine out of contention. Yet Hugo bucks and throws him into a manure pile, creating a moment of comic justice that allows Barbie to surge ahead. Majesty reads the moment perfectly, and she and Barbie leap the final jump together as the finish line nears. The crowd erupts in approval as Majesty’s presence proves the legends true, and Philippe’s cheating is exposed by his own mother, who sees through his schemes and chooses Alpine over his greed.

With Alpine saved, enrollment soars, and the academy’s future brightens. Marlene is relieved that Alpine won’t be sold to Brigitte, and the family smiles at the prospect of continuing to nurture young riders. Barbie, torn between taking Majesty back to Malibu and keeping her with her herd, ultimately decides the Majestique belongs with her kind and agrees to visit, promising Majesty’s herd will remain a part of Alpine’s story. Majesty herself stands on a cliff above the valley, rearing softly as the girls drive away toward the airport, leaving a lasting image of loyalty, legend, and the power of belief.