History Main / HorseBackHeroism

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[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} doesn't ride just any horse to save Mount Olympus from Hades. He rides on friggin ''{{Pegasus}}''.
* Subverted twice in ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}''.
** When Anna sets off on a mission to save Elsa and the kingdom, she does so riding on a horse. Said horse later gets spooked and runs off, and she then continues on foot.
** Sven is a huge reindeer but he is treated much like a horse in this way, and Kristoff dramatically rides him to help Anna during the whiteout at the climax [[spoiler: until he's separated from Sven and Anna sacrifices her life for Elsa's.]]
-->'''Olaf:''' There's your [[spoiler:act of love]] right there! Riding across the fjords like a valiant, pungent reindeer king!

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Jesse does this for the heroine of one of Joan Wilder's romance novels in the fantasy sequence at the start of ''Film/RomancingTheStone''.
* In ''Film/KateAndLeopold'', Leo rides down a purse snatcher through Central Park on the back of a horse that he borrowed from a carriage ride.
* Gandalf and his army do this in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers''.
* Odin gets to pull this off in ''Film/{{Thor}}''. For extra cool, the horse in question has eight legs.
* As the prince of ''Film/PrinceCharming'' rides through the city he sees a woman being attacked. He jumps from his horse to go rescue her.
* ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' begins with Prince Edward riding up to save Giselle from a troll and they plan to get married the next day.
* In ''Film/EllaEnchanted'', one of the many times Prince Charmont saves Ella's life is from an ogre's boiling pot when he comes up on his horse.
* Many ''DerivativeWorks/{{Zorro}}'' films feed this trope. Zorro's signature pose is raising his sword on top of a rearing horse.
* Done in ''Film/TheLoneRanger'', especially in the scene where the Lone Ranger and Silver appear ''on top of a building'' to lasso a gatling gun.
* In ''Film/TheGoodTheBadTheWeird'', Do-won comes charging into the Ghost Market on horseback to save Man-gil from Chang-yi. He later charges into the middle of a Japanese cavalry troop.
* ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' opens with a BigBadassBattleSequence in which General Maximus leads Roman cavalry into action against a Germanic tribe, [[HollywoodTactics even though Roman tactics were actually centered around their infantry]]. It does however enable to make our hero to look more badass than if he were leading the action from behind a shield wall. In his first gladiatorial combat in the Colosseum, Maximus ends up on a WhiteStallion taken from the charioteers he's fighting.

* ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven2016'': Chisolm and Faraday are fond of showing off their ImprobableAimingSkills while riding (such as accurately fanning a revolver from horseback), and make heroic charges at different points in the film.
* ''Film/HotFuzz'': When Sergeant Nicholas Angel returns to take on the conspiracy, he rides into the town square on horseback at a casual canter, [[WalkingArmory wearing enough weaponry to outfit a platoon]].
-->'''Angel:''' [[PreAsskickingOneLiner Mornin'.]]
* In ''Film/{{Sunset|1988}}'', Tom Mix and Wyatt Earp are flying to Mix's ranch to rescue Tom's girlfriend Nancy from gangsters when engine trouble forces their plane down. Discovering they are only 15 miles from Mix's ranch, they borrow horses from a couple of friendly cowboys, and come charging to the rescue on horseback.
* ''Film/JumanjiTheNextLevel'': [[spoiler:When the heroes are surrounded by mandrills and it looks like this is going to be the end for them, they Alex (as 'Seaplane') comes galloping in on a black stallions and scatters the mandrills. The heroes are even more surprised that the horse is Bethany in the avatar of Cyclone, a new PC in the game.]]
* In ''Film/YellowHairAndTheFortressOfGold'', Yellow Hair conducts almost all of her raid to break Pecos out of the Mexican fort on horseback.

* ''Film/SirArthurConanDoylesSherlockHolmes'': After escaping from the BigBad's hideout, Watson obtains a horse ([[MST3KMantra from somewhere]]) and seemingly gallops all the way to London to save Queen Victoria from an ActionBomb.

* The Rohirrim, Gandalf on Shadowfax, and various other instances in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
* A frequent occurrence for ''Literature/Zorro2005''.

* Sandor Clegane's rescue of Sansa in the second book of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' certainly qualifies, even though technically he's afoot at the outset. Still counts, though: he appears in the nick of time, prevents her from getting pulled off her horse and raped, swings up onto her horse in front of her, and gallops her to safety through a rioting mob. Another instance is his rescue of Arya when [[spoiler:she suicidally tries to save her mother at the Red Wedding.]] This one's odd because he ''does'' show up a horse (as lightning illuminates the scene, even), and ''does'' ride up to her at a gallop while rain pours and thunder rolls...and then whacks her unconscious with the flat of an axe. (So that he can take her away from the unfolding slaughter.) Heroic!

* ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'': Morris Roth, in the novella "The Wallenstein Gambit"[[note]]in the first ''Ring of Fire'' anthology[[/note]], assumes the role in the defense of Prague from Holk's mercenaries, but not just with the traditional rearing horse and sword waving. As the defenders first gathered he did all that, but when Holk's goons showed up the next day, Roth, riding a horse borrowed from Pappenheim, simply kept his uptime rifle close to hand, ready to use. His coolly awaiting the arrival of the mercenaries served the purpose of calming his poorly trained troops far better than the sword waving routine.
* In the second ''Literature/TimeScout'' book, Skeeter uses his hard-earned horseback skills to win a duel in the Roman arena, then pole vault out and save a friend from slavery.

* ''Literature/TheEmpiriumTrilogy'': During the annual horse race, Rielle sees a horseless Audric about to be attacked by assassins from an enemy country. Without a second thought, she rides to where he is and uses her powers to stop their assault.
* The Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar invariably ride graceful white horses, who are their BondCreatures [[spoiler:and reincarnated comrades-in-arms]]. Heralds who've completed their Equitation classes can do anything on horseback that they can do on foot, including diving headfirst into a river to rescue drowning victims.
* ''Literature/HouseOfNight'' vampyres dislike technology, so every [[AcademyOfAdventure House]] has a stable of fine horses and offers its students training in equestrianism. This comes in useful in ''Hunted'', when the heroes escape [[spoiler:Neferet]]'s grasp by fleeing her House on horseback. It's a risky endeavour, since the streets are dark and covered with snow, but they eventually get to safety.

* "Music/HoldingOutForAHero" by Bonnie Tyler: The white cowboy KnightInShiningArmor rides a [[WhiteStallion white horse]] in his effort to rescue Bonnie in the music video.

* This is [[SummonMagic Odin]]'s standard operating procedure in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games: appear ominously out of the darkness while lightning flashes around him, raise his sword/spear, have his steed Sleipnir rear up on his hind legs and whinny, then charge the enemy with [[SingleStrokeBattle deadly intent]].
* The ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' games give you a button specifically for making your horse rear up.
* Pushing the 'jump' button while your horse is stationary in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' also does so, and it triggers automatically when you successfully break in a wild horse.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Kessen}}'', your generals would ''always'' rear up their horses like this, along with uttering [[PreMortemOneLiner some sardonic/heroic line or another]], after accepting an order to march or attack.
* Bartz of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' comes riding in on his charger to save Lenna, and then Lenna and Galuf. This being ''Final Fantasy'', though, his charger is a chocobo. And the chocobo kind of had to talk Bartz into the second instance.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'', you start each match, and return after each respawn, riding into battle on horseback to get to the battle faster.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CartoonNetworkGroovies'' short ''El Kabong Rides Again'', the title character rides in wielding ''a guitar'' to smite the villain.

* ''Film/DisturbingThePeace'': While chasing after Diablo on [[HorsebackHeroism horseback]], Dillon fires several shots at the rear wheel of Diablo's dirt bike. He doesn't hit the tyre, but he does hit the chain, which disables the bike.

* In ''Film/{{Sunset}}'', Tom Mix and Wyatt Earp are flying to Mix's ranch to rescue Tom's girlfriend Nancy from gangsters when engine trouble forces their plane down. Discovering they are only 15 miles from Mix's ranch, they borrow horses from a couple of friendly cowboys, and come charging to the rescue on horseback.

Combine a RearingHorse, a BigDamnHeroes rescue, some CoolGuns or a sword, a pinch of DramaticWind, and you get Horseback Heroism. The sight of "Lightning" rising up on his hind legs while [[DramaticThunder thunder cracks]] in the background is enough to tell everyone involved that the Day is well and truly Saved.

* ''Anime/KaiketsuZorro'': As staple of the ''Franchise/{{Zorro}}'' franchise, the anime also uses the trope basically at least once per episode.

* Many ''Franchise/{{Zorro}}'' films feed this trope. Zorro's signature pose is raising his sword on top of a rearing horse.

* A frequent occurrence for ''Literature/{{Zorro}}''.

-->-- '''Bonnie Tyler''', "Music/HoldingOutForAHero"

* At the end of ''Film/{{Antebellum}}'', Veronica, wearing a Union tunic and brandishing a [[AnAxeToGrind hatchet]], goes charging on horseback through the middle of a [[spoiler:mock]] UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar battle.

* The Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar invariably ride graceful white horses, who are their BondCreatures [[spoiler:and reincarnated comrades-in-arms]]. Heralds who've completed their Equitation classes can do anything on horseback that they can do on foot, including diving headfirst into an river to rescue drowning victims.

* Sakaki did this in a dream sequence in the ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' anime.

* ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' opens with a BigBadassBattleSequence in which General Maximus leads Roman cavalry into action against a Germanic tribe, [[HollywoodTactics even though Roman tactics were actually centered around their infantry]]. It does however enable to make our hero to look more badass than if he were leading the action from behind a shield wall. In his first gladiatorial combat in the Collesseum, Maximus ends up on a WhiteStallion taken from the charioteers he's fighting.

* In fairy tales classified as types ATU 314, ''Goldener'', and ATU 502, "The Wild Man as Helper", the hero is given a horse and armor to fight in a war to protect his father-in-law's kingdom. For example: ''Literature/IronHans'' and ''Literature/KingGoldenlocks''.
* In Norwegian tale "Literature/The Princess on the Glass Hill" and its variants, the hero tames three horses of different colours and rides each of them to reach the princess atop a steep glass hill (sometimes as part of an "EngagementChallenge").

* In fairy tales classified as types ATU 314, "Goldener", and ATU 502, "The Wild Man as Helper", the hero is given a horse and armor to fight in a war to protect his father-in-law's kingdom. For example: "Literature/IronHans" and "Literature/KingGoldenlocks".
* In Norwegian tale "Literature/The Princess on the Glass Hill" and its variants, the hero tames three horses of different colours and rides each of them to reach the princess atop a steep glass hill (sometimes as part of an ''EngagementChallenge'').

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

** Dark Knight Gaia/Gaia the Fierce Knight and his retrained versions invoke this, as this monster's whole aesthetic is about being a badass knight riding a mount. Gaia is often given badass moments to show this trope off.

** Dark Knight Gaia/Gaia Fierce Knight and his retrained versions invoke this, as this monster's whole aesthetic is about being a badass knight riding a mount. Gaia is often given badass moments to show this trope off.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek 2}}'':

-->'''Olaf:''' There's your [[spoiler: act of love]] right there! Riding across the fjords like a valiant, pungent reindeer king!

* Out of the night, when the full moon is bright, comes a horseman known as ''Series/{{Zorro}}''...

[[folder:Music]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise'': When Sir Gerald's would-be assassin is fleeing on a motorbike in "The Killing Distance", Willie chases after him on a horse. And it's awesome.
[[/folder]]

* Link has been known for his horseback-riding skills since ''Ocarina of Time'', but the first time full-fledged mounted combat was used in the series was in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', when you fight King Bulbin for the first time.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Spike the dragon hopes for this when he goes to rescue Rarity from the Diamond Dogs during "A Dog and Pony Show". Twilight (the steed) is less than happy with the concept, but humors him. (And [[FridgeLogic if you think about it]], he's trying to do this to impress another ''pony''. What would they think of this?)

->''Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery stead?\\

* The climax of ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'' is a battle with the mounted Prince Philip up against Maleficent to save Princess Aurora.

* Disney/{{Hercules}} doesn't ride just any horse to save Mount Olympus from Hades. He rides on friggin ''{{Pegasus}}''.
* Subverted twice in ''Disney/{{Frozen}}''.