Jackson Free Press

Hauntingly awe-inspiring is one way to describe the story of Buck Brannaman, known to the world as the inspiration for "The Horse Whisperer." One Jackson native has set out to tell his story.

Cindy Hughes Meehl's documentary, "Buck," tells the story of a man, abused as a child by his father, who instead of continuing the cycle of abuse, takes on a more gentle and humane nature. He becomes an amazingly successful horse trainer, teaching people communication skills in the process.

"Buck," Meehl's first film, has created a buzz ever since it premiered earlier this year. It will screen at Malco Grandview Theatre in Madison starting this Friday, July 8.

One goal for Meehl was getting the film in the Sundance Film Festival last January. There, the film won the Audience Award. Other awards followed. In March, the film made its Mississippi premiere at the Crossroads Film Festival, where it was named Best Feature Documentary.

A love for horses is what first brought Meehl to Brannaman. They met when she attended one of Brannaman's clinics.

When Meehl, now 54, was younger, she and her sister rode horses in Jackson along Old Canton Road, before the area was developed. Meehl also competed in horse shows as a kid, riding English-style.

While Meehl has described the experience of making the documentary as the hardest thing she's ever done, success in artistic endeavors is not new for her. She graduated from Jackson Prep, and attended Mississippi State University where she studied fashion merchandising. Meehl went on to design couture eveningwear for Bergdorf Goodman and other stores in New York City. During the '80s, Meehl had her own labels: Sasha, Cindy and Phil as well as Cindy Hughes Designs.

Making "Buck" differed from other projects Meehl worked on because she believed she could inspire positive change in the lives of others.

"I was very inspired, in this case, to tell a helpful story and to give people hope, but in the past I think I really just enjoyed creating things, whether its planting a garden, or setting the table or painting a painting," Meehl says.

"I thought it would really help a lot of people, and I think in this phase of my life that's really important to me. ... I think it's a wonderful thing to remind people of what is important, make them maybe stop and look at their life and what they're carrying with them and how they can leave some baggage behind."

Meehl lives in Connecticut on property once owned by Mark Twain with her husband, Brian, a writer, two daughters, four dogs, 25-or-so chickens and two horses.

After promoting "Buck," Meehl plans to work on educational DVDs for horse owners. She is in the preproduction stage of another film but doesn't want to jinx the infant stage project by talking about it.

See the trailer for "Buck" on the film's Facebook page: Buck the Film.