Bright and early on a Saturday morning, a group of Bryn Mawr students boarded a Tri-Co van diverting from its usual route to take them to Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club located in North Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion. Organized by Black History Month coordinators, including members of Sisterhood*, the trip was an opportunity for Bryn Mawr students to learn about Fletcher Street and Philadelphia’s Black cowboys’ long-standing history while volunteering at the club for a day.
Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club has existed for decades, but its current organization was founded by Ellis “El-Dog” Ferrell in 2004. The mission of the club is to teach life skills, build community and instill discipline, all while teaching horsemanship. Darren Ferrell, son of Ellis Ferrell and the Vice President of FSURC, told the Bi-Co News, “all it takes is one kid bringing a group of friends” to build the life skills the club aims to foster. “We want to keep alive the history of urban riding and Black cowboys,” he added. The club has been the focus of literature, film and photography, including Mohamed Bourouissa’s exhibit titled “Urban Riders” at Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation. The club organizes birthday, Halloween, and Christmas parties where the horses are dressed up. It also offers free riding with no experience required, in return asking only for donations to keep the club going.
Following a quick ride to the stables, dressed in boots and gloves to protect us from the mud, we were offered a tour of the property by Ayana and Ellis, two children who both grew up around the horses. However, the horses weren’t the only residents of Fletcher Street. We were enthusiastically greeted by Jake, a dog almost as tall as the students, as well as a gentle cat named Alice. Ellis, introducing us to each of the horses, mentioned that he has been riding since he was 4 and has grown up at Fletcher Street. One by one, Ayana and Ellis acquainted us with Pandora, Traveller, Victory, Whiskey, Vermont and Bobitz (the oldest horse at the center). Many of the steeds are ex or current racehorses, including Traveller and Victory, and several are rescues.
After our introductions, we got to work. Split into two groups, we began mucking out a stall, followed by a wheelbarrow race in which Ellis triumphed. Ellis told us that they muck out the stalls mostly every weekend. Though they don’t ride the horses during the winter because of the cold, Ayana described how they still carry out duties such as mucking the stalls, feeding the horses, grooming them and exercising them. There was also, of course, Peter the pig, alongside a family of ducks and several bunnies who lived alongside the horses. We pitched in with the tasks, feeding apple slices to each of the residents.
By around 2 p.m., we had all gathered by the fire, discussing the different names for the animals. Peter, for example, was known by some as Bacon. Ellis Ferrell, opening a can of tuna to feed the curled-up Alice at his feet, also told us that there used to be a turkey on the property. “Someone stole the turkey and the next day, it was on the news!”
Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club has remained an integral part of North Philadelphia’s community, preserving the memory of urban riding and Black cowboys. They regularly post about their community events on their Instagram, which also houses a link to donate to the club.
