Fresh Horses is a 1988 American coming-of-age drama film directed by David Anspaugh, and starring Andrew McCarthy and Molly Ringwald. Plot Cincinnati college senior Matt Larkin seems to have a picture-perfect life: he comes from a well-to-do family, he is well-liked at his college, from which he is soon to graduate, and has a fiancée, friends, parties, and good times. When Matt meets Jewel, though, his carefully constructed house of cards falls apart and changes him forever. Matt is content with his very proper fiancée and his safe life, so when his best friend Tipton relates a story of a night spent in a rough country house filled with seedy characters, beer, music, and women, Matt initially scoffs at the idea of visiting, but as he ponders his imminent marriage, he decides to check it out–no harm done, just a little fun before life gets serious. The two drive out to the house, expecting a wild party. Instead, they find only the aftermath of the previous night—cigarette butts and bottles strewn everywhere, a solitary biker playing pool, and a woman's muffled giggle coming from upstairs. Disappointed, Matt goes to fetch a beer for Tipton and in doing so, in the kitchen, meets Jewel. Jewel is all mystery and trailer park at the same time. She's a poor Kentucky girl, obviously uneducated, yet Matt is instantly drawn to her. He returns to seek her out and the attraction they share is obvious. Despite their social differences, Matt is completely infatuated. His life soon does a 180. He breaks off his engagement, sneaks out at night, and stops seeing his friends. Matt has yet to figure out who exactly Jewel is, and discovers the secrets she is hiding (including an abusive husband and stepfather, the shady people who hang around the house, as well as the fact she is underaged). As a result, the two worlds collide, and they seemingly are doomed by circumstance. After Matt has a run-in with Jewel's spouse, the ultra-seedy Green, Matt and Jewel break up. Jewel separates from Green and Matt takes a job in Chicago. A year later, Matt returns home to visit his family for Christmas, he runs into Jewel who has since divorced her husband, obtained her GED, and is now attending a trade school to pursue a career in nursing and make a better life for herself, she has also met a new