Movies like Dakota's Summer (2014)
The best movies like Dakota's Summer (2014) are Windstorm (2013), A Cowgirl's Story (2017) and Amazing Racer (2009). If Dakota's Summer hooked you with its family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWindstorm (2013)7.4/10 from 306 votes
- NewestCenturion: The Dancing Stallion (2023)Released 2023
- Same seriesCowgirls n' Angels (2012)Cowgirls n' Angels
Windstorm (2013)
While spending the summer at her grandmother's farm, a girl discovers a talent for communicating with horses and tries to tame a fierce stallion.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Cowgirl's Story (2017)
Dusty Rhodes is new at Jefferson High, and she sticks out like a... well, a cowgirl. Dusty is a real cowgirl from Texas. Her parents are in the U.S. Army: her mother a helicopter pilot and her father a Special Forces Army Ranger. At first, Dusty is an outcast, but eventually she makes friends with a group that includes Savanah, a girl whose father was killed while fighting in Iraq three years earlier. Even though Savanah is kind of Goth and Dusty is all cowgirl they have a special connection and they bond. Dusty gets the school to agree to an Equestrian Drill Team and she enlists her new city slicker friends to join the team. As Dusty and the team practice, Dusty deals with the fears that come with her mother fighting in Afghanistan.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Amazing Racer (2009)
After the sudden death of her father leaves a teenage girl without a family, she becomes lost in her own anger and sadness. Her family doctor informs her that her father had a secret, that the mother she never knew was alive and well. When she travels to meet her, she befriends a horse trainer and discovers that in caring for the horse, she is able to overcome her hardships and emotional trauma. Together they begin to win many races and upset the favorites, owned by an egocentric mogul . Through the victories and new friendships she forms, she learns to find her way back to happiness.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Flicka (2006)
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCowgirls n' Angels (2012)
A group of rodeo trick-riders recruits a young girl to join them.
Why it matches: Same series: Cowgirls n' Angels · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Beauty (2015)
A modern retelling of Anna Sewell’s classic novel, Black Beauty explores the heartfelt story of 15 year-old Audry who makes the discovery of a lifetime whilst volunteering at a city animal shelter. Rescued from an abusive owner and recovering from a traumatic past, Black Beauty possesses a most unique quality of character, endearing itself to Audry and her Grandpa who adopt the horse in order to give it a second chance and perhaps even help revitalize their own family situation. Aided by dedicated trainer James and tested by the many challenges of equine life, Black Beauty has his work cut out for him as he embarks on a remarkable journey of discovery and friendship.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Destined to Ride (2018)
Lily's life is turned upside down when she is forced to leave her friends to spend the summer on a remote ranch with her nature-loving aunt. She is surprised to meet an unlikely group of friends and Pistachio, the horse she has an unbreakable bond with. When her aunt is threatened by unfriendly neighbors, Lily knows it is up to her to save the ranch.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Race To Win (2016)
After losing her father, a young women must find the strength to face her fears and compete in the race of her life or her family will lose everything.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Dolphin Tale (2011)
A sea of animal rescuers — and a lonely boy in need of a friend – nurse an injured dolphin back to health after it loses its tail in a trap.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWindstorm 4 (2019)
Grandmother Maria, Sam and the riding instructor Kaan are trying together to keep Gut Kaltenbach running, which is in financial difficulties. The ambitious Isabell supports her, although she secretly pursues her own goals. The impulsive Ari comes to riding training in Kaltenbach, where she develops a special relationship with Windstorm, the eponymous horse of the film series, and she also makes friends with Mika. Mika and Ari try to save the estate and protect Windstorm from reckless horse trainer Thordur Thorvaldson.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka: Country Pride (2012)
Flicka and Toby help out a struggling stable owner and her teenage daughter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka 2 (2010)
Carrie is a big-city teenager whose life is turned upside down when she moves to a horse ranch in Wyoming to live with her father. But everything changes when Carrie meets Flicka, a wild, jet-black mustang who's just as free-spirited and strong-willed as Carrie. The two form a special bond and Carrie opens her heart to her father and a handsome, local boy, but when a jealous rival puts Flicka's life in jeopardy, Carrie must do whatever it takes to save her best friend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDreamer: Inspired By a True Story (2005)
Ben Crane believes that a severely injured racehorse deserves another chance. He and his daughter Cale adopt the mare and save it from being sacrificed by the owner.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdventures of Dally and Spanky (2019)
A girl inherits a miniature horse that develops an unlikely friendship with her half-sister's Jack Russell Terrier, who takes to riding on the horse's back.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Story of Seabiscuit (1949)
Horse trainer Shawn O'Hara and his lovely niece, Margaret, come to America to escape the memory of an accident involving Margaret's brother, Danny. Working with thoroughbreds in Kentucky, Shawn takes a liking to a yearling named Seabiscuit, and fights to convince the horse's owner that the tiny horse with big knees will become a top-notch racehorse. Meanwhile, Margaret begins a tentative relationship with jockey Ted Knowles, but is haunted by her brother's death in a steeplechase spill. Written by Ray Hamel
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Windstorm 3 (2017)
Ostwind and Mika have found a real home at the farm Kaltenbach with Mika's grandmother. In the hustle of running therapy center and due to Mika's fame as a horse-whisperer, she feels that she doesn't have enough freedom and time to ride. After a serious disagreement with her grandmother, Mika secretly sets off for the night in eastern Andalusia, Spain, where she suspects Ostwind's roots are.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRacing Stripes (2005)
Shattered illusions are hard to repair -- especially for a good-hearted zebra named Stripes who's spent his life on a Kentucky farm amidst the sorely mistaken notion that he's a debonair thoroughbred. Once he faces the fact that his stark stripes mark him as different, he decides he'll race anyway. And with help from the young girl who raised him, he just might end up in the winner's circle.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWindstorm 2 (2015)
Summer vacation. Mika is overjoyed to see Windstorm again. But then she discovers strange wounds on the belly of Windstorm, for which no one has an explanation. Yet this is Kaltenbach verge of bankruptcy! With a heavy heart Mika decides to participate in a variety tournament in which beckons a high prize money. But during training affects Windstorm distracted, often he runs away easily. Mika pursued the black stallion until deep into the forest and is quite surprised: From the thicket a seemingly magical gray mare appears and the two horses dance around lovingly. Suddenly, a strange boy named Milan appears, who says the mare had escaped him. He claimed that he could Help Mika to win the tournament. But is there still time to save Kaltenbach?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisApple of My Eye (2017)
A young girl struggles after a traumatic horse riding accident causes her to lose her eyesight. CHARLES, the head trainer of Southeastern Guide Dogs, trains Apple, a miniature horse, to be her companion and surrogate eyes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991)
A runaway orphan, young Sonora, persists in a menial job mucking stables in Doc Carver's travelling stunt show. Her great wish is to become a death-defying "diving girl," but Doc refuses her pleas. Undaunted, Sonora's gutsy resolve finally convinces him to give her a break. On the brink of stardom, however, a cruel twist of fate threatens to destroy her dream.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like this50 to 1 (2014)
A misfit group of New Mexico cowboys find themselves on the journey of a lifetime when they learn their crooked-footed racehorse qualifies to run in the Kentucky Derby. Based on the true story of Mine That Bird, the cowboys must overcome impossible odds even before they reach Churchill Downs and the land of Kentucky's blue bloods.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeabiscuit (2003)
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTexas Rein (2016)
An all-American story that explores the family dynamic when a prodigal daughter returns home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
Four best friends (Tibby, Lena, Carmen & Bridget) who buy a mysterious pair of pants that fits each of them, despite their differing sizes, and makes whoever wears them feel fabulous. When faced with the prospect of spending their first summer apart, the pals decide they'll swap the pants so that each girl in turn can enjoy the magic.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wild Stallion (2009)
C.J. and Hanna become the greatest of friends when the latter visits the former on the ranch where she lives, with the purpose of photographing the horses for her school project. The two unearth a secret plot which may put the mustangs in danger.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
International Velvet (1978)
Sarah Brown is sent to England after her parents die in a car crash. There, she lives with her aunt Velvet who introduces Sarah to the world of equestrian competition and gives her the last foal of her own prize horse, The Pie. Under the watchful eye of her aunt and horse trainer Capt. Johnson, Sarah develops into a talented rider who might have a shot at the Olympics.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Centurion: The Dancing Stallion (2023)
Ellissia adopts a white stallion to train in the art of Mexican horse dancing. As she starts teaching the handsome but previously abused Centurion, Ellissia falls critically ill, which keeps her from competing in a celebrated equestrian event. Under the watchful eyes of her father, new ranch hand Danny steps in as trainer, hoping to win the competition — and, perhaps, Ellissia's heart.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Storm Rider (2013)
When her father is put into jail, the spoiled teenager Dani loses everything. Forced to live with her uncle Sam on a farm without horses to ride and train, a sad Dani takes care of a young mule and learns what really counts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Our Wild Hearts (2013)
A wealthy teenage girl from Malibu falls in love with a beautiful wild mustang, adventure, and the father she has never known in the wild Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
A Mermaid's Tale (2017)
12-year-old Ryan moves to the town where her father was born—a bleak, dying fishing town. However, exploring the coast, she discovers a cove that is home to a mysterious girl named Coral who reveals herself to be a mermaid.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dakota's Summer?
The closest matches to Dakota's Summer are Windstorm (2013), A Cowgirl's Story (2017) and Amazing Racer (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dakota's Summer?
People who watched Dakota's Summer most often go on to Windstorm (2013), A Cowgirl's Story (2017) and Amazing Racer (2009).
What is the highest-rated movie like Dakota's Summer?
Windstorm (2013), rated 7.4/10 by 306 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dakota's Summer?
Centurion: The Dancing Stallion (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Is Dakota's Summer part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Cowgirls n' Angels, which includes Cowgirls n' Angels (2012).
Are there English movies like Dakota's Summer?
Yes: A Cowgirl's Story (2017), Amazing Racer (2009) and Flicka (2006).
How are movies similar to Dakota's Summer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dakota's Summer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.