'Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy': How show sets a new benchmark for representation of disabled characters
Spoilers for 'Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy' Part 2
There are a lot of harmful tropes that stories tend to perpetuate when it comes to featuring disabled characters. There's no need to go over each one but Dreamworks' inclusion of a wheelchair user in Part 2 of 'Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy' manages to avoid them all, bringing a fresh new character to the screen that sees the representation of a disabled character in a positive note. The show sets an example that the entertainment industry would do well to emulate.
The first thing that's worth noting is that Dreamworks went the extra mile to ensure that the series' wheelchair-using character, Eleanor Kimble, was voiced by a wheelchair user in real life. The show hired Cassidy Huff to play the part, who has Conradi-Hunermann syndrome and uses a wheelchair in her day-to-day life. It might seem like a small thing, considering that only Cassidy Huff's voice was used to portray the animated character, but representation is an important thing both on and off-screen and Dreamworks' move is an important step in the right direction.
Eleanor Kimble is introduced in Episode 4 of the show, 'The Rival Racer'. She's presented as Lucky Prescott's (Amber Frank) main competition as the best rider on the Palamino Bluff Academy's relay team and both girls are competing for the same spot. Eleanor's use of a wheelchair is never something that is commented on, and it proves to be completely irrelevant to the story as well — but neither is it ignored. A few basic adjustments are all Eleanor needs to be able to ride her horse, and the show has put a lot of research onto the design of the devices used by Eleanor.
After the girls are forced to spend time teaching each other to ride better, they realize their riding styles are somewhat incompatible. Eleanor's harness keeps her from leaning forward in the same way that Lucky does, but the lack of a saddle on Lucky's wild horse Spirit means that she's unable to lean into race curves in the same way that Eleanor can. It's a fact that's noted, but not dwelled on. Eleanor and Lucky are equally competent in their chosen fields — and the show illustrates that without making it the focal point of the story.
Cassidy Huff has talked about just how much the move has meant to her and praises the show's attention to detail in an interview with The Mighty. "One of the things that I loved watching the episode, her chair does not have any handles on the back and I love it because my chair has handles on the back, and people try to touch it. It’s not furthering the stereotype that people with disabilities need help all the time. She's very independent," she said.
'Riding Academy' set out to be more inclusive with the introduction of Eleanor's character, and the way they have done so deserves appreciation. It's set the bar, and with a major studio like Dreamworks behind the move, this hopefully leads to other studios following suit.
All episodes of 'Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy' Part 2 are now available to stream on Netflix.