Paige Johnson (Equestrian)
Paige Johnson daughter of BET founders Bob and
From Town & Country Magazine (8/2012)
Paige Johnson
Age: 26.
Riding Since: 1992.
Primary Horse: Chiron S, a 14-year-old Holsteiner.
Stables: Salamander Farm, Wellington, FL (20 stalls, 10 acres), and the Plains, VA (30 stalls, 200 acres).
Parents: Her mother, Sheila, co-founded Black Entertainment Television with her husband, Robert L. Johnson, and is CEO of Salamander Hospitality; the divorced couple’s combined worth is close to a billion dollars.
DeBoraha Akin-Townson (Barrel Racing)
DeBoraha Akin (Townson) became the first Black cowgirl to compete in the International Professional Rodeo Finals in 1990. Today she is the only African American Woman to compete with a professional card in the WPRA (Women’s Professional Rodeo Association) at PRCA rodeos throughout the United States.
Rodeo Accomplishments: 1st African-American Female to compete in a rodeo finals 1990 IPRA, Tulsa, OK. 1989 IPRA Western Region Champion, 5 time Bill Picket Invitational All-Around Cowgirl, 6 time Bill Picket Invitational Barrel Racing Champion, 2003 California State Fair Lifetime Achievement Award, 2010 California Silver Lining Champion,
Stagecoach Mary (Mail Carrier)
Stagecoach Mary (Mail Carrier – c1895)
Mary Fields, also known as Stagecoach Mary (c. 1832 – 5 December 1914),[1] was the first African-American woman employed as a mail carrier in the United States,[2] and just the second American woman to work for the United States Postal Service.[3]
Fields stood 6 feet (182 cm) tall and weighed about 200 lbs (90kg), liked to smoke cigars, and was once said to be as “black as a burnt-over prairie.” She usually had a pistol strapped under her apron and a jug of whiskey by her side.[2]Biography
Born a slave c. 1832 in Hickman County, Tennessee, Fields was freed when American slavery was outlawed in 1865.[3][4]
She then worked in the home of Judge Edmund Dunne. When Dunne’s wife Josephine died in 1883 in San Antonio, Florida,[5] Fields took the family’s five children to their aunt, Mother Mary Amadeus, the mother superior of an Ursuline convent in Toledo, Ohio. In 1884, Mother Amadeus was sent to Montana Territory to establish a school for Native American girls at St. Peter’s Mission, west of Cascade. Learning that Amadeus was ill, Fields hurried to Montana to nurse her. Amadeus recovered and Fields stayed at St. Peter’s hauling freight, doing laundry, growing vegetables, tending chickens, repairing buildings and eventually becoming the forewoman.[2][3]
The Native Americans called Fields “White Crow” because “she acts like a white woman but has black skin.” Local whites did not know what to make of her. One schoolgirl wrote an essay saying: “she drinks whiskey, and she swears, and she is a republican, which makes her a low, foul creature.” In 1894, after several complaints and an incident with a disgruntled male subordinate that involved gunplay,[6] the bishop ordered her to leave the convent.[2]
Mother Amadeus helped her open a restaurant in nearby Cascade. Fields would serve food to anyone, whether they could pay or not, and the restaurant went broke in about ten months.[2]
In 1895, although approximately 60 years old, Fields was hired as a mail carrier because she was the fastest applicant to hitch a team of six horses.[3] She drove the route with horses and a mule named Moses. She never missed a day, and her reliability earned her the nickname “Stagecoach.”[3][4] If the snow was too deep for her horses, Fields delivered the mail on snowshoes, carrying the sacks on her shoulders.[2]
Fields was a respected public figure in Cascade, and on her birthday each year the town closed its schools to celebrate.[3] When Montana passed a law forbidding women to enter saloons, the mayor of Cascade granted her an exemption.[2]
Death and legacy
Mary Fields died of liver failure in 1914. In 1959, actor and Montana native Gary Cooperwrote an article for Ebony in which he said: “Born a slave somewhere in Tennessee, Mary lived to become one of the freest souls ever to draw a breath, or a .38.”[2]
In the 1996 TV movie The Cherokee Kid, Fields was played by Dawnn Lewis, and in the 2012 TV movie Hannah’s Law she was played by Kimberly Elise.[7][8]
Source: Wikipedia
| EX-SLAVE MARY FIELDS FELT AT HOME IN MONTANA, WHETHER WORKING IN A CONVENT OR MANAGING A MAIL ROUTE.A Black gun-totin’ female in the American wild west. She was six feet tall; heavy; tough; short-tempered; two-fisted; powerful; and packed a pair of six-shooters and an eight or ten-gauge shotgun. A legend in her own time, she was also known as STAGECOACH MARY.Mary Fields was born as a slave in Tennessee during the administration of Andrew Jackson — a feisty sort with whom she shared driving ambition, audacity, and a penchant for physical altercation on a regular basis. She smoked rather bad homemade cigars.Well after the Civil War loosened things up, as a free woman in 1884, having made her way to Cascade County (west central Montana) in search of improved sustenance and adventure, she took a job with the Ursuline nuns at their mission in the city of Cascade — such as it was. (Cascade that is, not the job, although it was not much to speak of either.) Called St. Peter Mission, the nuns’ simple frontier facility was relatively well funded, if remote, and the nuns did a thriving business converting heathen savages, and other disgusting customers, to the true path of salvation — although not salvation from the white men.
Anyway, Mary was hired to do ‘heavy work’ and to haul freight and supplies to keep the nuns’ operation functional and well fed. She chopped wood, did stone work and rough carpentry, dug certain necessary holes, and when reserves were low she did one of her customary supply runs to the train stop, or even to Great Falls, or the city of Helena when special needs arose.
On such a night run (it wasn’t all that far, but it was cooler at night), Mary’s wagon was attacked by wolves (maybe they wanted some of the dried beans or nun suits on board). The terrified horses bolted uncontrollably and overturned the wagon, thereby unceremoniously dumping Mary and all her supplies onto the dark prairie.
The more doubtful part of the story further says that Mary kept the wolves at bay for the whole of the night with her revolvers and rifle. How she could see them in the pitch black night is not explained however, but she did survive and eventually, when dawn broke, got the freight delivered, to the great relief of the nuns who had spent more than $30 on the goods in question (which was their principle concern). At the same time, they had no hesitation to dock Mary’s pay for the molasses that leaked from a keg which was cracked on a rock in the overturn.
At least Mary was prepared for such inconveniences as wolves (or others — such as drunken cowboys), being heavily armed at all times, and ready for a fist-fight at the drop of a hat. “Pugnacious” is not really an adequate word to describe her demeanor.
Since she did not pay particular attention to her fashion statement, and otherwise failed to look and act the part of a woman in the Victorian age (albeit on the frontier), certain ruffian men would occasionally attempt to trample on her rights and hard won privileges. Woe to all of them.
She broke more noses than any other person in central Montana; so claims the Great Falls Examiner, the only newspaper available in Cascade at the time.
Once a ‘hired hand’ at the mission confronted her with the complaint that she was earning $2 a month more than he was ($9 vs. $7), and why did she think that she was worth so much money anyway, being only an uppity colored woman? (His name, phonetically, was Yu Lum Duck.) To make matters worse, he made this same complaint and general description in public at one of the local saloons (where Mary was a regular customer), and followed that up with a (more polite) version directly to Bishop Filbus N.E. Berwanger himself (to no avail).
This was more than enough to boil Mary’s blood, and at the very next opportunity the two of them were engaged in a shoot-out behind the nunnery, next to the sheep shed. (Actually it turned into a shoot-out, because when Mary went to simply shoot the man as he cleaned out the latrine — figuring to dump his body in there — she missed. He shot back and the fracas was on.)
Bullets flew in every direction until the six-guns were empty, and blood was spilt. Neither actually hit the other by direct fire, but one bullet shot by Mary bounced off the stone wall of the nunnery and hit the forlorn man in the left buttock, which completely ruined his new $1.85 trousers. Not only that, but other bullets Mary fired passed through the laundry of the bishop, which was hanging on the line, generously ventilating his drawers and the two white shirts he had had shipped from Boston only the week before. What his laundry was doing at the nunnery is not clear.
That was enough for the bishop; he fired Mary, and gave the injured man a raise.
Out of work and needing some, Mary took a stab at the restaurant business in Cascade. Unfortunately Mary’s cooking was rather basic, which means that nobody would eat it, and the restaurant closed in short order. She was looking for work yet again.
In 1895, she landed a job carrying the United States Mail. Since she had always been so independent and determined, this work was perfect for her, and quickly she developed a reputation for delivering letters and parcels no matter what the weather, nor how rugged the terrain. She and her mule, Moses, plunged through anything, from bitterly raw blizzards to wilting heat, reaching remote miner’s cabins and other outposts with important mail which helped to accommodate the land claim process, as well as other matters needing expeditious communication. These efforts on her part helped greatly to advance the development of a considerable portion of central Montana, a contribution for which she is given little credit.
Known by then as Stagecoach Mary (for her ability to deliver on a regular schedule), she continued in this capacity until she reached well into her sixties, but it wore her down. She retired from the mail delivery business, although she still needed a source of income. So, at the age of seventy, she opened a laundry service, also in Cascade.
Figuring that by now she deserved to relax just a bit, she didn’t do a lot of laundry, but rather spent a considerable portion of her time in the local saloon, drinking whiskey and smoking her foul cigars with the sundry assortment of sweating and dusty men who were attracted to the place. While she claimed to be a crack shot, actually her aim toward the cuspidor was rather general, to the occasional chagrin of any nearby fellow patrons — never mind, she did laundry.
One lout failed to pay his bill to her however (he had ordered extra starch in the cuffs and collar). Hearing him out in the street, she left the saloon and knocked him flat with one blow – at the age of 72. She told her wobbly drinking companions that the satisfaction she got from that act was worth more than the bill owed, so the score was settled. As luck would have it, the tooth of his that she knocked out was giving him trouble anyway, so there was no reprisal. Actually, he was grateful.
In 1914 she died of a failure of her liver. Neighbors buried her in the Hillside Cemetery in Cascade, marking the spot with a simple wooden cross which may still exist today.
In spite of her drinking, and cigar smoking, and occasional fisticuffs, townsfolk were hard pressed to believe that this mellow (!?) old woman of 80 was the hard shooting and short-tempered female character of earlier years they had heard so much about. But they were wrong, she was.
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| I am Mary Fields. People call me “Black Mary.” People call me “Stagecoach Mary.” I live in Cascade, Tennessee. I am six feet tall. I weigh over two hundred pounds. A woman of the 19th Century, I do bold and exciting things. I wear pants. I smoke a big black cigar. I drink whiskey. I carry a pistol. I love adventure. I travel the country, driving a stagecoach, delivering the mail to distant towns. Strong, I fight through rainstorms. Tough, I fight through snowstorms. I risk hurricanes and tornadoes. I am independent. No body tells me what to do. No body tells me where to go. When I’m not delivering mail, I like to build buildings. I like to smoke and drink in bars with the men. I like to be rough. I like to be rowdy. I also like to be loving. I like to be caring. I like to baby sit. I like to plant flowers and tend my garden. I like to give away corsages and bouquets. I like being me, Mary FieldsSource: http://www.blackcowboys.com/maryfields.htm |
Donna Cheek (Equestrian)
In 1981, Donna Marie Cheek became the first black member of the U.S. Equestrian Team.
Hunter/Jumper trainer Donna Cheek has been riding and competing for 42 years and has worked with top trainers from the United States and Europe. She most recently closed her private training facility in Paso Robles, California after a successful eight year run to start EquineTrainersNewsletter.com, an innovative online marketing system designed for equine trainers. Currently she is a contributing host on KCBX public radio, Animal Issue and Ideas.
Donna represented Adolph Coors as a member of the Outstanding Talent Family, which toured the United States performing as an exhibition rider and lecturing at inner city schools. In addition, she represented Nabisco Brands Inc. as a motivational speaker to youth groups and women’s organizations. In 1994 NBC Television aired “One More Hurdle,” the Donna Cheek story in which Ms. Cheek starred.
The after school special earned an N.A.A.C.P. Image Award and also a Bronze Halo Award. Ms. Cheek represented the United States in Mexico City for the American Junior Show Jumping Championships, which was the first time a Black rider (male or female) had ever ridden for the U.S. Internationally in Show Jumping history.
She has won many awards within and outside of the horse industry and was the first equestrian to be inducted into the Women’s Sports Hall of Distinction in Cincinnati, Ohio.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
*Host of KCBX public radio Animal Issues and Ideas
*Created EquinetrainersNewsletter.com
*Owned & operated Equine Consign, a successful horse consignment and training facility
*Exhibition Rider and Role Model for RJR Nabisco Brands Inc.
*Exhibition Rider and motivational speaker for Adolph Coors Outstanding Talent Family
*Selected to represent the United States at the 1992 American Show Jumping Championships
*California Exposition Champion and winner of the F.B. Hart Perpetual Trophy
*American Horses Shows Association Medal Champion
*Starred in “One More Hurdle” the Donna Cheek story for NBC television
*Won the Southern California Motion Picture Council, Bronze Halo Award for “One More Hurdle”
*Inducted in 1997 into the Women’s Sports Hall of distinction
*Spokesperson for “Going for the Gold-The Story of Black Women in Sports” Publication and film by Carnation Co.
*Spokesperson for Involvement for Young Achievers, Inc.
*Listed in “Who’s Who among Black Americans” publication
*Listed in “Outstanding Young Women of America” publication
*Appeared in NBC television commercial “Profiles in Pride”
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
*Host of KCBX public radio Animal Issues and Ideas
*Created EquinetrainersNewsletter.com
*Owned & operated Equine Consign, a successful horse consignment and training facility
*Exhibition Rider and Role Model for RJR Nabisco Brands Inc.
*Exhibition Rider and motivational speaker for Adolph Coors Outstanding Talent Family
*Selected to represent the United States at the 1992 American Show Jumping Championships
*California Exposition Champion and winner of the F.B. Hart Perpetual Trophy
*American Horses Shows Association Medal Champion
*Starred in “One More Hurdle” the Donna Cheek story for NBC television
*Won the Southern California Motion Picture Council, Bronze Halo Award for “One More Hurdle”
*Inducted in 1997 into the Women’s Sports Hall of distinction
*Spokesperson for “Going for the Gold-The Story of Black Women in Sports” Publication and film by Carnation Co.
*Spokesperson for Involvement for Young Achievers, Inc.
*Listed in “Who’s Who among Black Americans” publication
*Listed in “Outstanding Young Women of America” publication
*Appeared in NBC television commercial “Profiles in Pride”
Source: Donna Cheek
Eight year old equestrian jumps to new heights
Eight year old equestrian jumps to new heights
When some think of images of success for our young daughters, we often see the Beyonces’, Rhiannas’ or the Nikki Minajs’ of the future. We might never consider the Donna Cheeks’ of the future. She was the first Black female equestrian to compete and win a medal in the Olympics.
Our daughter Sumayyah has been riding for about a year and a half. She won first place and champion in her first competition after only riding for about four months; the judge called her a natural. Since riding, she wants to be a veterinarian or horse trainer and has aspirations of competing in the Olympics.
Riding gives Sumayyah a confidence and sense of accomplishment. Years ago, she was afraid to even pet a horse let alone ride although she seemed to love the beauty of horses.
She started off on leadline and post and trot now she has advanced to hunter jumper and jumps foot and half cross rails. As she advances to canter, she will soon be jumping higher hurdles.
Riding takes discipline, confidence and focus as well as determination. Sumayyah has developed greatly in her confidence just from riding in such a short time.
She has demonstrated love and determination even after her first fall performing a jump. She got right back up on the horse and continued to ride and jump again.
*
| *8 year old Sumayyah Muhammad controls her horse as they perform a jump. |
As with any other sport, bumps and bruises are a part of the business, but if you have focus and determination to be great, you can’t let that deter you. Young Sumayyah has proven she will not be easily deterred. This little 45–pound young lady shows she is the one in control of the 1,000–pound horse. She displays control when the horse wants to do its own thing by quickly and confidently showing the horse who is boss.
There are other young, Black female equestrians, but not many, still slowly but surely more are on the rise. It is a wonderful thing to see our young girls competing and doing things outside of dancing and singing.
We are now looking for land in Virginia to start an equestrian center—which Sumayyah decided to name “Olympian Equestrian Center”—for young Black riders, male and female to further introduce the sport to our youth.
Source: Final Call
By Eric Muhammad | Last updated: Aug 23, 2013 – 5:37:34 PM
Selika Lazevski (Dressage)
Studio portrait of black female equestrian rider from the late 1800s.
Black Style | 1891
Selika Lazevski, Ecuyère
Selika Lazevski, a 19th century equestrian was photographed here by Felix Nadar in 1891 in Paris, France. She was an écuyère who performed haute école – which means she was an equestrian who rode high school dressage in French circuses in the 19th century.
“Selika Lazevski was an écuyère (horsewoman) who performed high level dressage. The écuyères rode side saddle in circuses and hippodromes, and were widely respected for their skills as horsewomen.”
SusannaForrest.wordpress.com sheds more light on the possible origins of her name.
“Sélika is the name of the heroine of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s 1865 opera, L’Africaine, and was adopted as a stage name by the first black woman to sing at the White House, the coloratura soprano Madame Marie Selika Williams. The opera was hugely popular among African Americans, and Selika became a fashionable name. Popular among horse owners too: a filly called Selika won the Kentucky Oaks in 1894.”
About the photograph
A young woman in a period riding habit ~ Photographed by Félix Nadar, the pseudonym of Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1820 – 1910), a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist and balloonist.
A young woman in a period riding habit ~ Photographed by Félix Nadar, the pseudonym of Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1820 – 1910), a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist and balloonist.
The photograph, Paris, c.1891, is included in a book called ‘La France Noire’, which is filled with images representing three centuries of black presence in France.
“This photo speaks to the soul of every strong, proud woman of African descent. It embodies our timeless spirit, and everything we are, and can be…in one glorious portrait. I loved it when it was nameless; it stirred my curiosity to no end. I am so pleased that Selika Lazevski’s name, and accomplishments weren’t lost to us.” – Sarah Jackson Brownehttps://www.facebook.com/SarahAnnetta 7.3.12
Some more Nadar photos of Selika on the French Ministry of Culture’s archive database:
Selika Lazevski, écuyère de haute école
1891 Félix Nadar
Photo courtesy of the Ministère de la Culture, France
Posted in Dressage Tagged 1880s, écuyère, black fe, Dressage, equestrian, horsewoman, Selika Lazevski 1 Comment
Shayla Wilson (Equestrian)
African American Equestrians Jump Racial Hurdles
June 3, 2009
African-American equestrians are the minority within a minority as equestrianism remains an interest among a few people, primarily white. Few women make it to the top of equine sports.
African-American equestrians are the minority within a minority as equestrianism remains an interest among a few people, primarily white. Few women make it to the top of equine sports.
Shayla Wilson is determined to be one of those few. An honors graduate (2008) of Virginia Intermont College, the nation’s top equine university, Shayla was the first African-American on the school’s equestrian team.
“At Florida University I was already an anomaly because I was the only black person on the team. I only started being outcast by certain members once I made it to Nationals, as if they’d realized ‘She’s serious’ or felt entitled, like ‘I was supposed to get that spot!’ I ignored it and mostly dealt with my friends. People like that ruin themselves. The biased coach was eventually fired. I like it here at Intermont and have a great world-class trainer.”
Source: Urban Views Weekly, https://bfequestrian.wordpress.com/page/4/
Update:
Hello all,
This is Shayla Wilson, and I wanted to say that I appreciate the time and attention Cheryl Williams put into making this article. However, I wanted to clarify that although I did experience racial bias, the coach of the University of Florida Equestrian Team was not biased in any way which is why I was chosen to go to Nationals my freshman year. The coach who recently passed is dear to my heart, because that person always supported my dream of becoming an equine professional.
To Valerie: Actually yes, I am an instructor and horse trainer now. I am the head coach of the Compton Jr. Posse, a not-for-profit group aimed at keeping kids off the streets and on horses. My dream of making it to the Olympics is still very much alive, as I have a great team supporting me here in LA. Thank you for your interest. :)
Source: http://urbanviewsweekly.com/2009/06/03/african-american-equestrians-jump-racial-hurdles/
Posted in Hunter/Jumper Tagged African American, equestrian, hunter/jumper, shayla wilson Leave a comment