Pit Pony

Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, 1904. Willie MacLean is an 12-year-old with a passion for horses and is helping his family get by the best since the death of his older brother in at the local coal mine (the Pit). Willie's older sister, Nellie, is perused by the Scot newcomer Ned Hall, who is always at odds with the mine's owner, Mr. Frawley over the working conditions. Meanwhile, Charley is hiding from the widow MacTavish over her husband's death, while Willie decides to enter his beloved horse, Sable, in a riding competition.

Nellie's Aunt Rose arrives for a visit, and she does not get along with Ned after learning that Nellie lied to her about him being a farmer instead of a miner. But Ned and Nellie's wedding plans hit a snag when Mr. Frawley wants Ned to work on Saturday, (the day of the wedding) and threatens to fire him if Ned takes off. Meanwhile, Willie is angry that Ned is forced to miss their training session for baseball, and Charley has to tutor Willie instead.

Willie and schoolmates, Mollie and Angus, are forced to spend the night in an abandoned house reputed to be haunted on a dare from pit boy Spider. There, Willie thinks he sees his father who advices him that things will get better. Meanwhile, Rose continues to resent Ned, but offers Nellie her mother's prized wedding dress, while Ned is offered to take the day off for his wedding by co-worker Allen, only to have tragedy strike in the mine.

With Ned and Nellie away in nearby Sydney celebrating their honeymoon, the snobbish, city slicker Rose finds herself the center of attention by a traveling violinist, named John Scottie MacNeil, whom she snubs, making Willie and his sisters the center of hostility from the townspeople for treating the legendary musician badly. As Maggie and Sarah prepare to move to Halifax with Rose, Willie seeks the company of Charley where MacNeil persuades Willie to live his difficulties through the magic of music.