Using the horse strain known as “America’s first”, the motif of the tale is all-too familiar: America first.

The purported race from Aden to the finishing line (somewhere north of what is today Saudi Arabia) took place in 1890. Fast-forward to 21st century Hollywood and the world of Disney. Enter scriptwriter John Fusco, author of nine major motion pictures and two-time recipient of the National Cowboy Museum’s Western Heritage Award, and a star cast including Viggo Mortenson and Omar Sharif. The result: A big budget movie, provisionally titled “Hidalgo”.

After two years of filming, the once-forgotten tales of a hitherto obscure character called Frank T. Hopkins are now in the Disney editing studios. In five months “Hidalgo” (named after the winning Mustang horse) will open as a major fall production — an $80-million movie shot on locations across the US and in the desert of the southern Sahara.

But the “true story” film and its set-piece, trans-Arabia horse race finale, are already raising dust by riding into a storm of controversy. The credentials of the film’s central figure, Frank T. Hopkins, and his entire stock of claims and stories are about to be called into question by a raft of equestrian enthusiasts, academics and experts on the heritage of the American Wild West.

“Frank Hopkins claims to have won 400 endurance races all over the world without so much as the loss of a single horse-shoe,” says equestrian researcher, author, publisher and long distance rider CuChullaine O’Reilly. “Yet a bevy of international experts have joined forces to denounce Hopkins as probably the biggest saloon liar in the history of the Old West.”

If the evidence debunking Hopkins sticks, then the film’s scriptwriter, John Fusco, who insists on the veracity of the story, and Disney who took on the title, will have some explaining or backpedaling to do. Information about to be released by The Long Riders’ Guild, the world’s first international association of equestrian explorers and long distance travelers with members around the world founded by O’Reilly, will argue that the Frank Hopkins story is nothing but an elaborate hoax.

Yet despite the mounting evidence that debunks Hopkins and consigns his accounts to those other countless dead and buried saloon yarns, Disney is making no bones about the underlying veracity of the film’s story. Its pre-release blurb states: “Based on the true story of the greatest long-distance horse race ever run, ‘Hidalgo’ is an epic action-adventure and one man’s journey of personal redemption.”

If we are to believe the accounts, Hopkins was well qualified to have run and won the so-called Ocean of Fire Race across Arabia. He claimed to be the most famous dispatch rider in the Old Wild West, a close personal friend of Buffalo Bill Cody and teacher of frontier lore to Billy the Kid.

He also said he was the star of the famed Wild West Show and that he put on a private two-hour equestrian performance before Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. Horses aside, Hopkins also said he rode a bull buffalo for four hours across the Plains and, putting serious long-distance endurance riding behind him, claimed he served as a secret agent for the US government during World War I.

Hopkins died in Long Island in 1951. According to his own manuscripts, he was born in 1865. He was 86 when he died. But even his octogenarian status is in question since his marriage certificate states he was 44 in 1929, which would have made him 66 at the time of his death.

The Disney pre-release blurb details the “true” story of Hopkins and the race:

“Held yearly for centuries, the Ocean of Fire — a 3,000 mile survival race across the Arabian Desert — was a challenge restricted to the finest Arabian horses ever bred, the purest and noblest lines, owned by the greatest royal families. In 1890, a wealthy sheikh invited an American and his horse to enter the race for the first time. Frank T. Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) was a cowboy and dispatch rider for the US cavalry who had once been billed as the greatest rider the West had ever known. The sheikh (Omar Sharif) would put this claim to the test, pitting the American cowboy and his mustang, Hidalgo, against the world’s greatest Arabian horses and Bedouin riders — some of whom were determined to prevent the foreigner from finishing the race. For Frank, the Ocean of Fire becomes not only a matter of pride and honor, but a race for his very survival as he and his horse, Hidalgo, attempt the impossible.”

O’Reilly says that he and his wife Basha worked for three months tracking down scholars and experts around the world.

“We can now confidently denounce the stories of Hopkins. This man was nothing short of a scoundrel and serial liar.”

Nina Heyn, Disney’s executive director of international publicity, thinks otherwise. A true story? “Yes, definitely it’s a true story,” she told Arab News, confirming that the cornerstone of the film is the trans-Arabia Oceans of Fire horse race. “Disney holds world rights for the film and it’s due for release in North America on Oct. 3,” she says, adding that depending on the rating the film is given, it will appear under the Disney or Touchstone Pictures label and that the title could change and will certainly vary internationally.

Asked to confirm whether the film has a scene that involves an Arab “suicide rider,” she says that she is still short on details of the film.

“The filmmakers’ job is now done. Until documents are made available from the production notes, we really don’t have much information to give. And they won’t usually appear until just before release.”

“This is a major film for Disney,” explains Heyn. “It’s a huge production and we aim for the film to be a large release for a general audience — a family film. It’s loosely based on real facts, not 100 percent of course. It’s a story about endurance, winning against the odds. It has a Lawrence of Arabia aspect to it.”

O’Reilly, however, is not impressed.

“Lawrence actually went to Arabia, unlike Frank Hopkins who only fantasized about it. This film will seriously damage America’s equestrian credibility,” he told Arab News from his home in Kentucky.

“It is simply astonishing that Disney didn’t ask for even a cursory investigation, let alone a probing analysis of Hopkins’ exaggerated claims before releasing a film labeled as ‘Based upon a true story.’

“Disney’s cinematic self-deception won’t hold up under the scrutiny of international investigation. They should scrap the title ‘Hidalgo’ and rename this movie ‘Pecos Bill Meets the Arabian Nights’, because it isn’t a film about an equestrian hero but rather a serial liar and his unfulfilled longings for fame.”

Pecos Bill was a cowboy of American legend who performed superhuman prodigies on the Wild West frontier in early days. One of his feats was to dig the Rio Grande River.

Depending on the credibility of The Long Riders’ Guild’s research due to be released this week, Frank T. Hopkins (aka The Laramie Kid) could well have dug a hole for Disney and its “true story” celluloid version of his feats.