International Velvet (1978)

Velvet's orphaned niece, Sarah, follows her dream of Olympic glory with her horse Arizona Pie.

Director: Bryan Forbes
Cast: Tatum O'Neal, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Hopkins, Nanette Newman, Peter Barkworth, Dinsdale Landen, Sarah Bullen, Jeffrey Byron, Richard Warwick, Daniel Abineri, Jason White, Martin Neil, Douglas Reith, Dennis Blanch, Norman Wooland, Susan Jameson, Brenda Cowling, James Smilie, David Tate, Ronald Chenery, Geoffrey Drew, Stephanie Cole, Margaret John, David Wilkinson, Emma Forbes, Paul Rosebury, Chris Quinten, John May, Marsha Fitzalan, Susan Hamblett

Thirty-four years after the release of National Velvet, MGM came up with this attractively filmed sequel. Tatum O'Neal stars as the niece of Velvet Brown, Elizabeth Taylor's character from the first film (the Taylor role is played herein by Nanette Newman, the wife of director Bryan Forbes). Like her aunt, O'Neal is horse-happy, and hopes to become an Olympic equestrienne. There are a few tense moments when O'Neal fails to measure up to her aunt's overexacting standards, and when the girl evinces jealousy concerning auntie's live-in love Christopher Plummer. But with the help of crusty old trainer Anthony Hopkins, O'Neal proves herself every inch the horsewoman that Velvet had been so long ago.

IMDb