Plot summary

Barbie and the girls arrive at the Alpine Riding academy, which appears to be nearly deserted, to visit Barbie's Aunt Marlene. The academy is located in the shadow of the Matterhorn and surrounded by vast acres of fields and woods, leading up into the foothills of the alps. Chelsea is decided to see several large horses in a paddock and wants to try to ride one right away, but Barbie says they will have all month to do this. Stacy is excited to prove she's as good as Barbie and Skipper at riding, for she's aced most other sports she's tried, and Barbie, having a big steeplechase race coming up in Malibu, wants to try to find a good horse to take back with her while she's here, which her Aunt approves of as her horses are the best trained in the area.Upon arriving, Marlene's two children - the very proper Max and the rather eccentric Marie - help them unpack. Barbie, Chelsea, and Stacie head to the stables to see the horses. Barbie attempts to get Skipper to come with her, as Skipper used to love riding and is very good at dressage, but Skipper is missing a comic convention she had badly wanted to attend by being here and prefers to stay in the room and chat with her friends via her tablet instead of participating with the horses.Marlene and her children take the other three girls to the stables. As neither Chelsea nor Stacy have ridden before, Marlene insists they let the horses pick them, instead of choosing horses themselves, while Barbie is free to use her expertise to pick her own horse. Unfortunately for Chelsea, the only horse that comes near to her or shows her any attention at all is the only little pony in the paddock, Dash. Chelsea is disappointed and refuses to ride Dash, but the pony continues following her around A feisty horse named Pepper chooses Stacie, just as Monsieur Etienne, the riding instructor and the schools' resident steeplechase rider, storms into the paddock in a fit of emotional rage because the ear warmers he ordered for the horses are the wrong color. Marlene explains that Etienne is always emotional and not to mind him. Barbie wanders into the stables and finds a stallion who seems to be all right, but she still isn't quite sure.Stacie attempts to mount the horse but with far too much speed and confidence for a beginner. Pepper promptly moves out from under her and causes her to fall in mud. Meanwhile, Skipper has wandered into the grounds to test her tablet's camera and gets Stacy's fall on camera. Three young men on horseback arrive and laugh at Stacy, and mention that if that's the best Alpine Academy has to offer, they can kiss their chances of winning the upcoming inter-school competition behind. One of the boys, Theo, is attracted to Skipper and tries to flirt with her, calling her "tech girl", but gets a picture of himself altered into a picture of a Monkey for his pains. However, she secretly is attracted to him too.Aunt Marlene explains to Barbie that they haven't won an inter-school competition in over 11 years, which is why enrollment is so low to practically non-existent at the school right now. Barbie and her sisters decide they will see if they can help out, but in the meantime the younger two have to take some riding instruction from Etienne. He takes all four sisters on a leisurely ride through the forest and trees, much to Barbie's dismay as she had hoped to go riding. However, Etienne doesn't want any horses to spook during the tour and insists they stay at a careful walk. Barbie notices suddenly a magnificent, huge white horse with a pinkish streak in her mane and some silvery markings on her sides, rearing up by a waterfall. However, when she tries to get everyone's attention, the horse seems to vanish.That night, as Barbie walks around the paddock, she notices the sign that hangs over Alpine's entrance is a portrayal of a horse with the same markings as the one she thought she saw. She hears gentle singing in French, and realizes Etienne is still awake and grooming one of the horses, for once calm and relaxed. Barbie goes to sit and talk with him and discovers he calms both himself and the horses by singing. She asks him about the sign, and he tells her it shows a horse breed of Swiss legend called "The Majestique", who were said to be bred as protectors and servants of Swiss princesses in ancient times. These horses supposedly are large but not heavy like carthorses - powerful, strong, fiercely loyal to those they chose to befriend, and excelling at jumping more than any other horse alive. Supposedly there are feral descendants of the royal horse breed wandering the alps, but no one has ever truly seen or photographed one. He says he considers them a myth, like mermaids or fairies. However, he admits that as a child he thought he saw one. Barbie isn't so sure they are myth, but before she can explain what she saw, a small fat man barges into the stables and begins a heated argument with Etienne, beginning with berating him for his foolishness in believing in the Majestique and eventually devolves into petty subjects going all the way back to when the two were children. It turns out this man is Etienne's brother Phillippe, the riding master at Chateau Montagne, owned by their mother. He has never forgiven Etienne for taking a job at Alpine and leaving them. As he leaves, he becomes curious in spite of himself and asks Barbie if she saw anything, but she has taken a disliking to him and tells him no one can see something that does not exist. Phillipe leaves, but back in his office, he finds a picture of himself and Etienne as children, and uses a magnifying glass to show that a mysterious speck in the background is in fact a Majestique. He knows full well they exist, and has designs on finding them.Stacie continues to attempt to ride her horse with disastrous results, mostly due to her own cockiness being her downfall as Pepper doesn't like the attitude or want to work with it, as Chelsea flees Dash's over-zealous affectionate attentions, still wishing she can ride a big horse. Barbie goes for a solo ride on Finnean, the horse she chose earlier, to search for the mysterious horse she saw. As she rides through the woods, she rides straight into a pack of gray wolves, who stalk her and her horse and attempt to eat her. Finnean flees, leaving Barbie to face the wolves alone. Suddenly, the mysterious horse arrives, leaps high over both Barbie and a fallen log, and uses her huge size and her strong kicks to send the wolves flying. Barbie thanks her, and the horse trots off into the woods as Barbie rides back to the academy. Stacie starts to get the hang of riding, and Etienne starts training her for the Grand Prix jumping competition as part of the inter-school competition, but Stacie continues to treat Pepper as a dumb horse and trust in her own ability, causing Pepper to once again throw her as Skipper and Theo watch with amusement, still playfully insulting one another as well.Barbie rides back out the next day and finds the horse that saved her caught in a rockfall. She frees the horse but her foot is injured. She manages to use Etienne's song to calm the injured and frightened horse, and gets her foot treated and bandaged before riding her around for a while. Unfortunately, some of the great horse's hair is caught, including a few pink strands, on a nail on a nearby fence. Phillippe finds it, and knows he is on the right track. The horse, whom Barbie dubs "Majesty" as her species cannot be in question, takes Barbie on a wild ride across the alps, eventually going through a tunnel in the rock to a large meadow where the rest of her herd resides. Barbie returns, excited by the adv enter and knowing that Majesty is the horse she's been looking for all her life. Unfortunately she isn't sure if it's safe to let people know the Majestique exist, so she keeps it a secret for now from everyone but her sisters.Marlene finds Chelsea cowering in the stable, trying to hide from Dash. Marlene explains that Dash loves Chelsea because she is small like herself, and that she's a great horse for someone Chelsea's size. Besides, Chelsea uses marshmallow scented shampoo, and Dash is particularly partial to marshmallows. She also likes being dressed up, and Chelsea decides to give her one more chance, entering her in the junior rider Pony Parade at the competition later that week. Max and Marie, meanwhile, argue over the theme of the gala that Alpine will be hosting as part of the competition festivities, and Barbie has to comfort Stacie and explain to her that she needs to stop treating Pepper like an object and more like a living being with feelings to get her to cooperate...including a bit of bribery with treats, which can't hurt. Pepper and Stacie start to bond.Skipper discovers Aunt Marlene poring over bills and realizes something is wrong. Marlene admits that Philippe and Etienne's mother, Brigitte, the owner of Chateau Montagne, is offering to buy Alpine's property from her, as Alpine has virtually no students to speak of and no one will enroll because they have no wins to their credits for more than a decade. Marlene would hate to sell the academy and the house she lives in on the property, where the family has lived for generations. She also knows that Brigitte only is offering to try to help her out, but knows that Phillippe is going to probably take over from his mother soon, and she doesn't trust him. However, she seems to have no choice. Skipper rides out to find Barbie returning on Finnean after riding out to see Majesty again, and tells her of the situation. Stacy, Chelsea, and herself can ride in respective competitions, as Marie and Max, while both excellent riders, are both too young. Stacy knows that Barbie, the best steeplechase rider in Malibu, could sweep the competition in the steeplechase if she had the right horse. However, Barbie says they have to trust Etienne, who is already entered in the steeplechase, not willing to let the world know Majesty exists and fearing what Phillippe might do.The first day of the competition arrives. Chelsea and a heavily beribboned and glittered-up dash easily sweep the pretty pony parade's first prize. Theo, riding for Chateau Montagne, gets a very high score in dressage, but Skipper, for once leaving her technology and tablet behind, leaves him in the dust, gaining the respect of Theo's formerly mocking friends and causing THeo to rethink some of his own preconceived notions. Finally, Stacie and Pepper ride well in their even, but Pepper spooks at one of the jumps and has to be comforted by Stacie. They come in second, causing a tie between themselves and Chateau Montagne, above all the other schools, for the lead. At the Gala, Theo and Skipper dance together, and everyone else seems to have a good time, though Etienne has to confront Phillippe for stealing all the cocktail shrimp before anyone else can get any. Chelsea, seeing the horses in the paddock, decides to try one more time to ride a big horse. She sneaks out and jumps on a horse, but because it didn't hear her coming, it spooks and starts leaping about the paddock. The other horses panic and one knocks down the fence, sending horses scattering to the four winds.Etienne tries to rescue Chelsea, but the horse throws her and kicks him, breaking his arm. Chelsea is knocked unconscious, but wakes up mostly unscathed, apologetic. With no horses left at Alpine, Philippe gloats that they will have to withdraw from the competition's second day. However, Theo, who not only attends the riding school but lives in the area, is expert at tracking through the woods and defies Phillippe's orders, taking Barbie, Stacy, and Skipper to find the horses and bring them back. They find the horses join together and that their tracks are joined by those of other horses. Finally, as the sun rises, they find Majesty with their horses, leading them to where her herd is hidden. Barbie thanks Majesty for helping her again, but Philippe arrives on his horse Hugo, and Majesty flees. He tells them that now that he knows that there are Majestique on the property, he will hunt and capture them and exhibit them for a profit. When Barbie reminds him that Alpine still belongs to her aunt and that she hasn't sold it to his mother yet, Philippe reveals that Etienne's arm is so badly broken that he cannot ride in the steeplechase. None of the other school's riders come close to him and Hugo, so there is no hope that Alpine can win the competition now an pay off their debts with the prize money. Barbie decides that she has no choice but to reveal Majesty to the world.At the competition, Marlene and the others wait to hear from the girls. WHen nothing is heard from, the announcer starts to say that Etienne and Alpine are withdrawing from the competition, when Barbie arrives with Majesty, who is a little confused at all the people, the race course, and the idea of wearing a saddle and reins, but wants to help. The entire crowd immediately recognizes that Majesty is a Majestique, and Etienne almost weeps with joy to see one in the flesh. THe race starts, but the click of the cameras startles Majesty, causing her and Barbie to get a late start. Philippe, determined to win at all costs now so he can own Alpine's valuable property, starts subtly sabotaging the other riders by slashing their saddles with special spurs he is wearing, bumping them so they spook with his riding crop, and so forth. Majesty and Barbie catch up to him, but he simply slashes the saddle. However, Barbie removes the reins and gets back up, riding Majesty bareback as they have been doing through the woods. They catch up to Philippe again as they near the finish line only to have him block their way from getting there. As Hugo clears the final jump, spurred by a vicious beating from Philippe's riding crop, Majesty decides to simply make the jump at the same time, jumping over Hugo while he's still in the air. Having had enough of Philippe, Hugo bucks and sends him straight into a manure pile,, allowing Barbie to win.As the photographers and the students and audience crowd round to meet Majesty, who is friendly despite her initial nervousness, Philippe demands that the trophy be given to him, as Barbie's jump over him was technically illegal. However, his own mother turns against him, saying she saw him cheat. She expresses that she is glad that Marlene will not have to sell Alpine to her after all. Afterwards, enrollment in the academy more than triples, and Barbie, initially considering taking Majesty back to Malibu with her, decides the horse would not be happy without her herd and lets her go, though they promise to visit again. Majesty watches from a cliff as the girls drive off to the airport, rearing and neighing her goodbyes.