The New Adventures of Black Beauty

- Season 1

(1990)

Nigel Denning returns to his father's house in England. He brings his new wife Jenny Gordon Denning with him. The Dennings want to move to New Zealand and take Vicky, Nigel's 12-year-old daughter, with them. Lord Fordham does not like this idea - he wants to give Vicky a traditional education. Vicky meets the old Black Beauty, Jenny's horse, and begins to love him.

Jenny and her stepdaughter Vicky are awaiting word from her husband at Dr. Gordon's home in England. When word arrives his ship is lost, the two head for New Zealand to their farm and meet Manfred. Word arrives of Black Beauty's death and on the same day a wild black horse appears.

Jenny and Vicky work cleaning up the farm but Vicky's mind is on the wild black horse. A trip to town starts establishing Jenny as a veterinarian but while gone, the horse runs away. Vicky and Manfred discover the stallion trapped with Vicky learning how far she will go to save the untamed new Beauty.

Frank Coats takes Black Beauty in Jenny's absence. Coats wants a fight between his favorite horse, Dancer, and Black Beauty.

Vicky begins her mail delivery job with the self important Mr. Burton as her boss while Dr. Gordon finds himself with little to do. Vicky and Beauty encounter a down on their luck circus troupe who are intent on conning everyone to get what they want.

Something was badly wrong on the ship that crashed on rocks in broad daylight and sank. Vicky, who discovered the only injured man and a nearby dog while riding on the beach, solves the mystery from various comments, the captain's papers, and a dictionary.

After Manfred buys an old pump handle he thinks came from a long-lost gold mine, he and Vicky set out to find Dooney's Glory Hole. They literally fall into the mine and are trapped when a wooden ladder will not support their weight.

Kurt, a secretive man, says his arrival in the community is to study birds. Manfred thinks his flying machine is ready and with Vicky's encouragement invites the town to watch. Kurt seems to have ties to Manfred's past and Vicky is intent on learning the truth.

The upper class Trents have moved to the community and Vicky hopes to have found a friend in Phoebe over their shared love of horses. But Phoebe becomes jealous of Vicky and her riding skills with Black Beauty, leading her to behave snobbishly. Vicky learns it's important to be true to who you really are.

Young Bobby, while being pursued, is injured in an illegally set trap on the Denning land. While riding Black Beauty, Vicki confronts Coats for setting the traps and helps Bobby without giving away his hiding place.

While delivering mail to Ronson, Vicky sees that his working horses are emaciated and covered in sores. Ronson needs them for his livelihood and refuses to treat them better, despite warnings from Jenny and the Constable. Manfred and Hilda Burton develop a solution to the situation.

Manfred takes over Vicky's mail duties when she leaves for exams. A missing registered letter and mail already opened has Manfred in trouble, with his German heritage creating suspicions. The answer may be with Ernie, a boy working for Coats, who has a fondness for stamps and Beauty.

Jenny is away, giving everyone a chance to plan her birthday celebration. Lewis is brought to the farm after becoming injured while Manfred creates a cooking invention for Mr. Burton which he believes will make him wealthy. In the end everyone is surprised.

Vicky has a new friend Fiona, who has become attached to a pony of Mr. Coats. Fiona's father says he will buy the horse but a misunderstanding leaves Coats angry and determined to thwart the purchase. When the pony is sold to a tinker, Vicky and Black Beauty decide to remedy the situation.