Within a year, Hollywood had adapted True Grit into a crowd-pleasing movie ... he’s out-acted by “Little Blackie,” the horse he’s riding. Is there an Oscar for Best Supporting Equine?

Mattie Ross: They say he has grit. I wanted a man with grit ... prim and proper on her pony, Little Blackie. Well scrubbed and fond of quoting scripture, she's the very opposite of Cogburn ...

It's a line cited in Charles Portis's 1968 novel True Grit by 14-year-old heroine ... you will sob for Little Blackie the pony as you have sobbed for no animal since Bambi. But the tale's ultimate ...