Wauconda horse wins at film festival and equine show
Kodak Moment, trained by Wendy Lani-Smouse at Resolute Farm in Wauconda, stars in the comedic romantic parody short film "A Stable Holiday," which won the Best Comedy Flavored Film Award at the MLC Awards June 24 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Kodak Moment's honors now include both a film festival win and winning in the show ring, debuting his competition career in August 2022 at the 87th annual Dunham Woods horse show in Wayne.
After his award-winning start as a movie star horse with Urban Pebble Productions, Kodak Moment began his competition career with Sasha Cichon as his talented rider in the 2-ft classes and into the baby greens.
The duo competed at the 87th annual Dunham Woods horse show Aug. 26-28, 2022, and they brought home first-, second-, fourth- and fifth-place ribbons.
The accomplished team of Cichon and Kodak Moment ribboned well during the indoor season at the Ledges A Shows until a minor injury put Kodak Moment on R&R in early 2023. Lani-Smouse and everyone at Resolute Farm hope that he will debut again this year in competition with Cichon as his rider at Dunham Woods 2023.
Kodak Moment's award-winning film, "A Stable Holiday," premiered at the Bensenville Short Film Festival March 2, and has since played at film festivals from Ely, Nevada, to Coleman, Texas, to Ontario, Canada.
The film follows city-dweller Sarah (Teresa Martinez Moore), who is a skeptic of romance movies as she inherits a surprise horse from her great-aunt Agatha. Horse Ted (Kodak Moment) is preparing to compete in a local horse show, and with a little help from his rider (Adam Rebora), he may manage to turn Sarah into a lover of Rural County and love stories after all.
Filmed in Chicago and Wauconda at the Horses for Humanity farm, the short film has three upcoming film festival screenings: Saturday, July 15, at the Star City Film Festival in Lansing, Iowa; Saturday, July 29, at the Three Fires International Film Festival in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada; and Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Cinema Soup Festival at the Cinema Chatham, 210 W. 87th St., Chicago.
Written and directed by St. Charles native Jess Elfring-Roberts, this 10-minute film features music by Eileen Marie Moore and stars Teresa Martinez Moore, Jess Elfring-Roberts, Adam Rebora, Bryan Cosgriff, Ali Pepper, Ana Ortiz-Monasterio Draa, Miles Strong-Austin and, of course, Kodak Moment.
Resolute Farm is home to many horses in addition to Kodak Moment, and Wendy Lani-Smouse spearheads the hunter/jumper riding lessons program, as well as horse boarding, training, sales, and show teams.
Resolute Farm is run out of Horses for Humanity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that specializes in adaptive equine-assisted therapeutic activities.
For more information about lessons and training for all levels of rider at Resolute Farm, contact Wendy Lani-Smouse at resolutefarmhj@gmail.com or (224) 308-9518. To support Horses for Humanity or learn more about its mission, visit horsesforhumanity.org.
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