Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club facts for kids
The Fletcher Street Riding Club is a special group in North Philadelphia that teaches young people about horses and riding. It's a non-profit organization, which means it's focused on helping the community, not making money. This club is part of a long tradition of black cowboys and horsemanship in Philadelphia that has been around for over 100 years! Local horse riders take care of horses and teach kids in the neighborhood how to do the same. They also encourage kids to do well in school and offer fun, healthy ways to spend time outdoors. The club works hard to find money and keep its place of operations.
What the Club Does
The Fletcher Street club has stables in the Strawberry Mansion area of North Philadelphia, right next to Fairmount Park. In November 2023, they opened a new stable in East Fairmount Park. Horses are ridden through the city streets and parks. Sometimes, they even have races on a part of Fairmount Park called the Speedway. Experienced riders and young people in the area care for the horses. A special veterinarian also helps keep the Fletcher Street club horses healthy.
The horses in the program often get a second chance at life. They are usually bought at a livestock auction in New Holland, Pennsylvania. This means these horses might have been put down if the club hadn't bought them.
Sometimes, the experienced riders take these horses past a field on 15th street called 'The Oval'. This is where many members of the Temple University Diamond Band see the horses and get excited about them!
Club History
The tradition of the Fletcher Street riders has been around for more than 100 years! The current organization was officially started in 2004 by Ellis Ferrell.
In 2008, the city government tore down some of the stables and the club house. They wanted to build new things on the land. At that time, there were questions about whether the horses were being treated well, but these concerns were proven wrong. The horses were healthy and well cared for. Even so, many horses had to be moved because the land was being redeveloped. A few dozen horses stayed in the area over the next ten years.
In 2009, the club wanted to add more formal programs like mentoring and tutoring for kids. However, it was hard to do this because they didn't have a lot of money. That Halloween, they held a special event in Philadelphia to raise money. Many groups helped, including local fishermen, churches, the urban cowboys themselves, and local businesses.
For many years, Ellis Ferrell has led the club, with help from other local riders and community members. The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club became a recognized non-profit organization in 2015. This special status (called 501(c)(3)) means they can accept donations that help their programs. They even received their first piece of land, a 7,500-square-foot lot, which was donated by a local real estate company.
In 2019, the club moved onto this new land. However, the Philadelphia Housing Authority later acquired the land for a housing project.
In April 2021, a movie about the club was released on Netflix. After the movie came out, Ellis Ferrell and the Fletcher Street Riding Club started a fundraiser. This helped bring support to the real-life programs that Ferrell, his family, and friends had mostly paid for themselves for many years.
Other Urban Horse Programs
Philadelphia has other groups that teach horsemanship. One is the Black Cowboys Association. They help kids in tough neighborhoods find a positive path through horses. Another program for teenagers in Philadelphia is Work to Ride. It's based at Chamounix Equestrian Stables in Fairmount Park.
Black urban horsemanship programs also exist in other big cities across the United States. These include Horses in the Hood in Los Angeles and the Federation of Black Cowboys in Queens, New York City. The New York group was even featured in a 2003 film.
In Dublin, Ireland, teenagers in some neighborhoods have also had a tradition of keeping and riding horses since the 1990s. Some of these young people are from Irish Traveller families. In 1999, a British newspaper called Dublin's horse culture "a fascinating example of what happens when the poor appropriate the pleasures of the rich." A study looked at how this program helped the community. In 2007, a TV show followed five "pony kids" as they learned to ride and explored the world of fancy horses.
See also
- African-American trail rides
- Compton Cowboys
- Oakland Black Cowboy Association
