Black Beauty - Sleek black stallion on the animal series THE ADVENTURES OF BLACK BEAUTY/SYN/1972-73. Based on the classic novel Black Beauty (1877) written by Anne Sewell (1820-1878) about a horse who suffers abuse from a series of owners in Victorian, England, this series adaptation (52 episodes) followed the story of a horse named Beauty and her teenage companion, Victoria Gordon (Judi Bowker). In 1978 NBC-TV presented a lavish five-part miniseries based on the novel set in 19th century Maryland. In the novel, Beauty was harnessed to a temperamental chestnut mare named Ginger. THE ADVENTURES OF THE BLACK STALLION/FAM/1990-93 told the tale of another black horse adapted from the classic children's novel by Walter Farley about Henry Dailey (Mickey Rooney), a grumpy horse trainer who helped an aspiring teenage jockey named Alec Ramsey (Richard Ian Cox) realize his dreams of glory in the racing world.