And now the message

The White Horses, a Yugoslav-German co-production about a teenage girl's equine adventures, was dubbed into English and screened on BBC One. The theme tune, written by Michael Carr and Ben Nisbet (and sung by Irish singer Jacky) reached the UK Top 10 in 1968.

The theme song came about when the dubbing company asked Carr and Nisbet to write a theme for a "popular East European series" (which would seem to be a major oxymoron!).

The program was shot in black and white in Slovenia in 1965, and followed the adventures of 15-year-old Julia who leaves Belgrade to spend a holiday with her uncle on his stud farm (oo-er!). The 12 hour-long adventures were repeated by the BBC in the 1970s, but the Beeb later wiped its tapes.

The show has since developed a cult reputation among fans, with devotees buying complete foreign-language videos and swapping music files on the internet.

The original title of the series was Ferien in Lipizza.

Posted By: Creosote Ah Um, May 9, 09:25:07