35:, local horsemen maintain and care for horses and teach neighborhood youth to do so. They encourage academic excellence and provide positive ways for local youth to spend their leisure time outdoors. The nonprofit organization has struggled to find funding and secure and maintain their place of operations.
92:
In 2009, the club planned to bring more formal mentoring and tutoring elements into its programs, although tight budgets made this difficult. On
Halloween of that year, the program held a benefit event at the First District Plaza in Philadelphia, a collaboration between local fishermen (who also run
231:
described "Dublin's suburban horse culture" as "a fascinating example of what happens when the poor appropriate the pleasures of the rich." An anthropological study of the Dublin program examined the community development program in the context of anti-poverty efforts. In 2007, a television series
172:
comic universe), the character
Nichols Nichols, who grew up in Philadelphia, is surprisingly knowledgeable about horses. When asked how, he identifies the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, remarking, "City didn't care what happened to little brothers, but Fletcher Street, they looked out for us."
111:
In April 2021, following the release of the
Netflix movie based on them, Ellis Ferrell and the Fletcher Street Riding Club launched a fundraiser, so that support could flow into the real-life programs that Ferrell, his family, and the group's friends have largely self-funded for decades, despite
63:
Park, on private and abandoned city land. The horses are ridden throughout the city's streets and parks, and regular races are held on an open strip of
Fairmount Park called the Speedway. Experienced horsemen and youth in the area care for the horses, and the Fletcher Street club horses receive
100:
Since 2015, the club has been a recognized federal nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, enabling it to accept tax-deductible donations, including its first title deed to a 7,500-square-foot piece of vacant land, and revive its fundraising efforts. The lot was donated to the
96:
For decades, the club has been led by Ellis
Ferrell and supported by other local horsemen and community members. In previous years, the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club was a registered nonprofit in Pennsylvania and Friends of Fletcher Street, a supporting organization, was under the fiscal
88:
publicly investigated allegations by city officials that the horses were being mistreated. The allegations proved baseless. However, with the land razed and redevelopment progressing, many horses had to be moved. In the subsequent decade, a few dozen horses remained.
83:
The club has been around for over 100 years, but the current organization was founded in 2004 by Ellis
Ferrell. In 2008, the city government razed some of the stables and the club house, ostensibly to redevelop the land. At the time, the
550:
196:
called "a
Philadelphia institution that offers kids in the city's toughest neighborhoods the chance to claim a path out of the 'hood on horseback." Another formal horsemanship program in Philadelphia for local teenagers is
74:
The experienced horsemen often ride these horses past the recreational field on 15th street known as 'The Oval'. It is here that the horses catch the attention of many Temple
University Diamond Band members.
1068:
551:
https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/pub78Search.do?ein1=46-3515556&names=&city=&state=All...&country=US&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=searchCharities&submitName=Search
1073:
537:"Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club Cooperative, Inc." Business listing as PA Non-Profit Cooperative Corporation, Pennsylvania Department of State, accessed August 14, 2019.
1088:
829:"Real-Life Urban Cowboys Are Standing Up to Gentrification: If you just watched Concrete Cowboy on Netflix, get to know Philadelphia's Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club"
641:
85:
223:, teenagers in a difficult low-income neighborhood have had a tradition of keeping horses and riding them since at least the 1990s. Some of the young people are from
126:(television version) and in regional equestrian magazines. It has also attracted photographers and filmmakers, local and global, amateur and professional. In 2006
44:
402:
745:
165:
284:
513:
346:
209:
909:"Horse power on the streets of Dublin: Ponies are the ultimate status symbol for inner-city youngsters, but the authorities regard them as a menace"
104:
In 2019 the club moved onto newly acquired land. However, the long-dormant triangle of city land used for decades by the club was threatened by the
93:
a youth program), local churches, the urban cowboys themselves, and the local business association, Strawberry
Mansion SMART Business Association.
208:
Black urban horsemanship programs exist in major cities throughout the United States. These include Horses in the Hood in Los
Angeles and the
376:
1083:
828:
588:
908:
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A. Jamie Saris et al, "Culture and the state: Institutionalizing 'the underclass' in the new Ireland." accessed December 21, 2009.
251:
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external pressure, direct city government interference, and acquisition of their longtime property for housing construction.
105:
613:
268:
241:
55:. In November 2023, they opened a new stable in East Fairmount Park. Informal stables also existed throughout North and
769:
428:
142:
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1063:
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68:
1001:
957:
642:"'Concrete Cowboy' debuts on Netflix as Philly riders who inspired the film fundraise to keep tradition alive"
521:
101:
organization by Good Bet Trading, a local real estate company owned by Philadelphia native Adam Ehrlich.
1048:
Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, 2607–11 West Fletcher Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA
127:
933:
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is based in Fletcher Street and urban horsemanship culture. The novel was adapted into a film called
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24:
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documented the story of five "pony kids" selected to ride and tour the fancier equine world.
403:"Trampled Under Hoof: Fletcher Street Urban Riders Seek to Ride Again in Strawberry Mansion"
224:
489:
989:
263:"Street Riders" and "Hoofbeats on Fletcher Street" LIFE Magazine (Cover), April 22, 2005.
246:
228:
269:
https://web.archive.org/web/20100827085718/http://johnnydwyer.net/clips/pdf/hoofbeats.pdf
202:
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sponsorship of MAP Holistic Community Development, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
52:
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28:
538:
453:
198:
32:
982:
71:, giving a second chance to animals that would likely otherwise have been killed.
67:
The horses used in the program were initially purchased at a livestock auction in
60:
796:"Black Cowboys Ride the Range in Queens, and Keep a Sharp Lookout for Traffic"
377:"Strawberry Mansion neighbors flip for Idris Elba: 'His swag is unbelievable'"
158:
147:
887:
807:
465:
192:
In Philadelphia, one organized group is the Black Cowboys Association, which
23:
is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to inner-city horsemanship in
133:
589:"Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club Brings Horse Community to Philadelphia"
770:"Google Pixel 2 TV Commercial, 'Fletcher Street Crew' Song by Son Little"
108:, which acquired the land for $ 1 and broke ground on a housing project.
1047:
852:
181:
169:
264:
220:
177:
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in Queens in New York City, the subject of a 2003 film produced by
934:"Photographing the Horse Riding Nike Wearing Tough Kids of Dublin"
120:
The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club has been mentioned in NPR's
720:"Check Out These Photos of Idris Elba Riding a Horse in Philly"
746:"'Concrete Cowboy' shows Philadelphia's Black cowboy culture"
332:"Urban Cowboys Come to Devon." Main Line Times, May 21, 2008.
16:
Philadelphia non-profit dedicated to inner-city horsemanship
533:
531:
564:"Locals rally to 'Save Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club'"
483:
481:
340:
338:
164:
In the second issue of the "Wasteland" storyline of the
695:"Filmmaker choreographs 'horse tuning' in North Philly"
454:"In the Inner City Of Philadelphia, Horsey Set Bridles"
514:"First Annual Horseman & Fisherman Youth Benefit"
130:
published a book of photographs, "Fletcher Street."
64:
additional care from a prominent area veterinarian.
1069:
Historic American Landscapes Survey in Pennsylvania
1031:
667:"The True Story Behind Netflix's "Concrete Cowboy""
285:"Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club gets a new home"
490:"Struggling to Keep Hope Alive in an Urban Stable"
539:https://www.corporations.pa.gov/search/corpsearch
876:"Ireland's Range War: Urban Cowboys vs. the Law"
86:Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
1039:Facebook page for the club set up by supporters
983:http://www.esc.umn.edu/docs/Saris_CityArt02.pdf
1074:Non-profit organizations based in Philadelphia
180:featured the club in a video advertising its
8:
161:featured Fletcher Street horses and riders.
43:The Fletcher Street club has stables in the
635:
633:
614:"New life for an old 'ghetto cowboys' club"
201:, based at Chamounix Equestrian Stables in
518:PlanPhilly: Planning Philadelphia's Future
166:Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
150:that debuted on Netflix on April 2, 2021.
1089:African-American history in Philadelphia
275:
932:Rodriguez Castro, Laura (2014-07-10).
27:. Part of a century-long tradition of
688:
686:
375:Winberg, Michaela (August 14, 2019).
227:families. In 1999, British newspaper
7:
1044:Historic American Landscapes Survey
718:Fiorillo, Victor (August 9, 2019).
308:Bhattacharya, Sanjiv (2007-02-17).
265:http://www.life.com/image/52735208
14:
853:"The Federation of Black Cowboys"
188:Other urban horsemanship programs
874:Clarity, James F. (1996-11-13).
640:Murphy, Darryl C. (2021-04-02).
401:English, Shane (July 27, 2019).
283:Hazelton, Lynette (2023-11-22).
252:Oakland Black Cowboy Association
794:Kilgannon, Corey (2006-10-10).
665:Cachero, Paulina (2021-04-02).
693:Crimmins, Peter (2014-07-11).
612:DiFilippo, Dana (2015-05-18).
452:Nassauer, Sarah (2007-09-25).
427:DiFilippo, Dana (2008-09-15).
267:(cover), full scanned copy at
153:The music video for the song "
106:Philadelphia Housing Authority
1:
562:Hartman, Trish (2015-11-28).
1084:African-American equestrians
1002:"Jump starting their future"
907:Murdoch, Alan (1995-04-17).
345:Whitaker, Tim (2004-08-11).
242:African-American trail rides
827:Smith, Talia (2021-04-05).
587:Thomas, Lisa (2015-12-02).
210:Federation of Black Cowboys
21:Fletcher Street Riding Club
1105:
958:"Pony Kids: Urban cowboys"
744:Coyle, Jake (2021-03-30).
618:The Philadelphia Inquirer
289:The Philadelphia Inquirer
69:New Holland, Pennsylvania
1046:(HALS) No. PA-35, "
549:"IRS 501(c)(3) search."
429:"Enough horsing around?"
136:2011 young adult novel
1079:Sports in Philadelphia
724:Philadelphia Magazine
494:East Coast Equestrian
433:Philadelphia Inquirer
1050:", 9 data pages
31:and horsemanship in
458:Wall Street Journal
351:Philadelphia Weekly
194:Philadelphia Weekly
988:2010-06-19 at the
880:The New York Times
800:The New York Times
123:This American Life
116:In popular culture
49:North Philadelphia
45:Strawberry Mansion
25:North Philadelphia
568:6abc Philadelphia
310:"Red riding hood"
214:Zachary Mortensen
57:West Philadelphia
51:, on the edge of
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1064:Equestrian clubs
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1032:Official website
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128:Martha Camarillo
47:neighborhood of
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347:"Urban Cowboys"
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247:Compton Cowboys
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229:The Independent
225:Irish Traveller
221:Dublin, Ireland
190:
176:In early 2018,
143:Concrete Cowboy
118:
81:
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12:
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1024:External links
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168:(part of the
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155:Feel the Love
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138:Ghetto Cowboy
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29:black cowboys
26:
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1010:. Retrieved
1008:. 2007-08-04
1005:
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966:. Retrieved
964:. 1999-02-06
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522:the original
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359:. Retrieved
355:the original
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199:Work to Ride
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33:Philadelphia
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407:Spirit News
61:Cobbs Creek
1058:Categories
1012:2024-01-06
968:2022-09-16
943:2024-01-06
918:2024-01-05
893:2022-09-16
859:9 February
838:2024-01-06
813:2022-09-16
779:August 14,
755:2021-04-01
729:August 14,
704:2024-01-06
676:2024-01-03
651:2024-01-03
623:2018-02-01
598:2017-07-19
573:2022-09-16
499:2022-09-16
471:2022-09-16
438:2024-01-06
412:August 14,
386:August 15,
381:Billy Penn
361:2009-12-15
319:2022-09-16
294:2024-03-30
258:References
159:Rudimental
148:Idris Elba
39:Activities
888:0362-4331
808:0362-4331
466:0099-9660
146:starring
134:G. Neri's
986:Archived
774:iSpot.tv
699:WHYY PBS
646:WHYY PBS
236:See also
182:Pixel 2
170:Hellboy
79:History
59:and in
886:
855:. IMDB
806:
464:
178:Google
157:" by
938:Vice
884:ISSN
861:2016
804:ISSN
781:2019
731:2019
671:Time
462:ISSN
414:2019
388:2019
19:The
219:In
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