Sonny Steele, played by Robert Redford, is a former champion rodeo cowboy who has fallen on hard times. He is now a spokesperson for Ranch Breakfast, a cereal company that is planning on unveiling a new product at a promotional event in Las Vegas. Steele is supposed to ride a magnificent horse named Rising Star onto the stage, wearing a suit covered in lights.
But Steele is increasingly disillusioned with his life as a corporate spokesperson and is disgusted by the way Ranch Breakfast treats animals. When he learns that they plan on drugging Rising Star to keep him calm during the event, he decides to steal the horse and ride him into the wilderness where they'll both be free.
Steele is pursued by Wendell, the ranch's head of security, played by Willie Nelson, who sympathizes with Steele's plight and eventually becomes his ally. The two men manage to evade the police, the press, and Ranch Breakfast's corporate goons, and along the way, they attract a following of supporters who admire Steele's courage and integrity.
The climax of the film comes when Steele and Rising Star make a daring escape through the heart of Las Vegas, pursued by a fleet of police cars, helicopters, and news vans. In the end, Steele manages to free Rising Star and release him into the wild, where he can run free and unencumbered.
The Electric Horseman is a powerful and moving film that explores themes of livestock abuse, capitalism, and the search for meaning in the modern world. It features brilliant performances by Redford and Nelson and is widely regarded as one of the best films of the 1970s.