User reviews

The series runs smoothly and it's not to be taken too seriously. Characters have their own characterization and I personally did not get bored between an episode and another. Free Rein is ironic, simple, full of teen drama and pleasantly fills a free afternoon. Each episode lasts about half an hour, it's worth a look but as as simple as it is you have to watch it without high expectations. I enjoyed it.

Netflix recommended this series to me because I watch Heartland. I ignored it for a while because I figured it'd be some cutesy, childish TV series, but eventually decided to try it. It's actually pretty good! Currently I'm 28, and I used to watch The Saddle Club when it aired back in 2001 when I was 11. I think it appeals to a slightly more mature audience than TSC, and the child actors are better in comparison. Being an equestrian myself, I can't help but roll my eyes at the idea of a teenage girl with zero prior riding experience suddenly becoming the stable's best rider in a matter of months, but it's still all around a great series. The cast has great chemistry, the landscapes are absolutely breathtaking, and I love the variety of beautiful horses they have. Definitely a good drama series.

Cute show, but as other have pointed out, the producers should have talked to actual horse people, because no one on this show, especially the so called "professionals" know squat about training one.

I can buy that the "wild" horse could bond with the inexperienced main character, Zoe -- any horse would sense right off that she wants nothing from them so they'd be intrigued and even feel safer with such a person, especially if they've been abused. Or even that she is a natural rider, without having had any official training or actual experience. Achieving more in a couple of weeks than others might do in years, I was one myself. BTW... it's highly unlikely that Raven is a stallion - don't need to be one to not trust humans - or act wild. lol. The horse would have to have quite a pedigree in order to not have been "cut" already and looking at how this horse moves, he's got too many conformation drawbacks that you wouldn't want to perpetuate through breeding.

I love the cross section of horses shown (especially, Bob and his awesome leg feathers). It is quite indicative of the location and beautiful to obverse. The location itself is also lovely. But for starters, no one who knows anything about training horses would try to lunge an inexperienced or scared one in a big open space, especially one as unpredictable as Raven; where a) the horse is more easily distracted; and b) there's so much space for it to "run out" in and avoid learning anything at all. Along the same lines, you wouldn't try to saddle one for the first time by choice in a big open paddock. In fact, they should have been rubbing this horse down with towels, blankets, saddle pads, etc in a confined space from the beginning to get it used to the tack and being just touched and handled, not just suddenly throwing it at the poor guy a year later out of the blue. And the list goes on... a lot of basic stuff that a truly professional trainer, or even just experienced horse people would know about. In general, other that the horse is black and pretty (which by themselves does not get you very far in a competition), the writers give no clue as to why the owners even want to keep this particular horse in spite of all of it's problems. It's never been fully trained for riding, so they haven't a clue as to it's potential, and the girl who owns him is hardly the sentimental type. Even his behaviour isn't consistent. Horses that are freaked around people are freaked pretty much all of the time when around people -- or loud, busy surroundings -- not selectively as this one is -- well unless they've been encouraged to be drama kings by people around them who are inconsistent and/or don't know what they're doing.

If you love horses, have kids who love horses, and want to learn how to actually handle them, gain their trust, do yourselves a favour and watch a show like Heartland instead. It too is family oriented, well written, charming, beautifully filmed, funny, sad, not predictable, thinks outside of the box, the age group starts out about the same as this show -- and the writers have actually done their research where the horses themselves are concerned. Stick with Free Rein for the cute teen story line, but overall don't do what they do with the horses. You'll either get badly hurt, or badly hurt the horse, psychologically, if not physically. They pretty much only learn bad behaviour if we teach it to them, or don't teach them properly to begin with.

The show was a series that gave teen drama, horse lovers, and family all in one show. It was so great that I watched the whole season over a day after first watching it. This show is great for anyone that loves horses and a little teenage drama that keeps the audience attention when watching it. Hope many enjoy the show as much as I did and hope that another season will happen with all of the same characters as season 1.

Look, this show isn't perfect. It's actually far from perfect. Main character Zoe is moderately unlikable - she is self-absorbed, obnoxious and unwilling to listen to experts and their riding advice, constantly falling back on the "I'm a natural rider" excuse to do whatever she wants. Make sure kids are aware that it takes years of riding to get to the level she was at if this show inspires your kids to start riding. However, all other characters are decent and interesting, both the main secondary characters like Mia, Marcus and Pin and the lesser used characters like Susie. If the writers put effort into Zoe like they did with everybody else, this would be a great show. The plot is also a strong point. The twist in the first season does originally feel like it comes out of nowhere, but was actually very clever in that there are little subtle hints to who the horse thief was.

I am a horse person, so I agree that some of this is "horse fantasy" land, but I don't mind. It's a horse crazy girl's show and it's appropriate for kids and family. Plot holes galore! Horses magically tacked up! A trainer who never rides any horses! But still, good characters, beautiful horses. Just needs a dog or two and then it would be perfect.

My children and I loved this series and watched most of it all at once on a cold day in. It's gripping, intriguing and has a nice clean story line making it great family viewing.

We particularly enjoyed the horse riding as we have just started horse riding lessons and found the horse riding accurate and interesting.

Adults should not judge it, really. I watched it with my daughter... actually, at least twice already. And I have to admit that I like it. It is not the greatest series, but it is a good story for tweens and teens. There are parts with weak plot twists as well as parts with not so great acting, but overall it is decent series that should be watched from the beginning to understand the story line. It is no worse than many other teen movies, really. It is also beautifully built around stables and horses with some history involved, and it is often quite poetic. It follows the rules of kid's genre, from dramatic to funny. I don't know much about horses or England, so I did not see any flaws. I believe that this is a good series to watch as a family.

The series covers a buch of classic stereotypes such as the mean, rich girl, Mr. Perfect or the "nerdy girl".

And then, of course, there is the wild, untameable and -big surprise- black horse that will only bond with the special horse girl.

A bit cheesy honestly, but cute though.

I suppose the series is probably meant to inspire the dream of sharing a special bond with a horse, but unfortunately the depiction of how horses behave is very far off reality. And this is the part that I find pretty upsetting, because it gives people that actually want to learn sth. About horses a wrong impression of how horses feel and act. Speaking of - the way Zoe´s approaching Raven all the time is making ME nervous. :D

But enough critiques - aside from that I really like the main actress; she has lots of appeal and gives Zoe a very unique character. The other actors are also doing a great job in my opinion and their characters are well written. I didn´t have a moment of boredom and I´ve quiet enjoyed watching the series. So yes, recommendable.

Can we please stop with the movies and TV shows with teen girls wearing 10 pounds of flawless make-up 24 hours a day? It's totally unnecessary, unbelievable and detrimental to young girls' self esteem. The main character isn't too likable... actually none of the characters are, but maybe that's because the acting is stiff and the dialog is ridiculous. The show itself is silly, predictable and completely unrealistic, full of plot holes big enough a horse could fall into them. This is a total waste of time for most people unless you really, really love horses.

I watched this series with my 6 yr old horse crazy daughter over a weekend and we absolutely loved it. The story line is easy to follow for young children, the characters are likable and there's no inappropriate themes. The English country side is just beautiful as are the horses. Admittedly we are horse lovers but this is a really enjoyable show for young families to watch together. My daughter is desperate for season 2, fingers cross it's renewed.

Totally ruined by the mockney. The girl who plays Mia is the worst one. Why can't children be taught to speak before they are taught to act. We had mee instead of meet, comtition instead of competition, sable instead of stable. It just goes on. Soon all our films will be ruined by this rubbish. It is so hard to listen to. What a shame to ruin such a lovely programme.

This show changed my life. I did not know what I was going into as a pressed "start episode" on my blotchy iPhone screen. As the minutes passed by, so my spirits lifted. "Could there be any show on earth more incredible?" I inquired to myself. Turns out, after minutes of searching and viewing, there isn't. This show has anything your aching heart could desire: the vibrant British country side, little horsey boi, drama, and attractive British lads! Yes, Free Rein has it all. And it has my heart. No other show can possibly be as perfect, as pure, as wonderful as this series. If you are questioning whether to begin on this epic journey that is streaming this series, I personally would like to invite you on the ride of your life. Don't forget to bring your horsey helmet, it's going to be the greatest ride of your life.

Why not they both lobe horses and run a horse ranch. That girl who beleives in the ghost horse can tell people a witch helped her out and no one will believe her and funny and crazy times happens

This TV show is one of the best TV shows ever. It is very cheerful and entertaining. But still family friendly. At first I thought it was just going to be a little kids show, but I really enjoyed it. It is a great TV show for all ages. Actors were all very good. I really hope Netflix makes a season 2!

Classic teen show, older actors trying to look like 16 years old, a world where adults don't exist because kids can solve everything including the management of businesses... Really?

My two granddaughters were cheering, crying and so excited over this series. FINALLY, a wonderful family fun show that even the adults can enjoy with the kids. Our family comes from a long line of horsemen and women, and so the kids enjoy anything horsey - but THIS SERIES, really had them entranced. They can't wait until July when Season 2 arrives. Thank you. In a world trying to make our children grow up too fast, this series touched their little souls in a big way with a positive message.

If you are between the ages of 10 and 15, as well as love horses and drama shows, then this show is a must-see for you. The moment I started watching it, I couldn't get enough. I literally binge-watched season two in one night! My favourite show. No others can beat it.