Show Ponies

Every time anyone mentions claymation, the name Nick Park comes up and, inevitably, Chicken Run. Neil Jack's nine-minute class comedy, with horses, isn't quite in that class, but it's a brave try.

The scene is a gymkhana, or rather the parking lot for horseboxes, where the animals are brushed and groomed in preparation for events going on off screen.

It's the familiar rich twit versus scruffy nice person scenario, in which a friendly old nag is insulted by a state-of-the-art gadget filled horsebox owner, whose arrogance is rewarded when an electrical malfunction gives her preened and perfect show ponies a bad hair day.

With limited resources, Jack does well to keep the joke afloat. His script, co-written with Cameron Fraser, is gentler than you might expect and the humour less barbed. However, the voicing actors are tremendous.