Frank Hopkins

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Frank Hopkins (1865 – 1951) was a cowboy from the United States. He was known by his stories about his own exploits, and was an activist for the preservation of the Spanish Mustang.

Hopkins made a number of disputed claims, including claims of being a famous endurance horse racer who won over 400 races, and his involvement in a legendary 3,000 mile horse race which, supposedly, took place in Arabia in 1890. This story was adapted into the 2004 film Hidalgo, which received generally positive reviews. However, some argue that most of Hopkins' claims as depicted in the film, including the existence of any such race in the first place, are 'tall tales' or hoaxes.

In 2006, John Fusco, the screenwriter of Hidalgo, responded to the disputed items. He admitted that he took parts of Hopkins' 1891 desert memories and "heightened the 'Based On' story to create an entertaining theatrical film" but asserts that the story of the man and his horse are true. Fusco offers quotes from those who knew Hopkins along with information found in old texts to verify his story.

According to the film, the descendants of the horse Hidalgo, for which the movie was named, live among the Gilbert Jones herd of Spanish Mustangs on Blackjack Mountain in Oklahoma.

Frank Hopkins is interred in Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens County, New York City.

[edit] External links

• A discussion of the disputed claims in Hopkins's life
• Hildalgo screenwriter’s response to the disputed claims
• www.frankhopkins.com tribute site Sponsored by The Horse of the Americas Registry & the Institute of Range & The American Mustang
• http://www.thelongridersguild.com/hopkins.htm Contains links that dispute claims of Frank T. Hopkins