PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A new state of the art facility was unveiled in East Fairmount Park today for one of the city’s oldest urban equestrian riding clubs.
The $1.5 million dollar project boasts a brand-new equestrian barn with 12 horse stalls, a hay loft, complete with a beautiful covered porch and more. Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club founder Ellis Ferrell Jr. — also known as El-Dog — was beaming with pride at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“We have a nice, big, clean stable for the big horses,” he said, “and for the kids, [it means] keeping them out of trouble.”
City Council President Darrell Clarke says the new facility was a long time coming.
“It gives him an opportunity to get kids out of the neighborhood into an environment that's conducive to learning, experiencing nature, learning how to ride and becoming a real family,” said Clarke.
The club — which inspired the 2020 film “Concrete Cowboy,” starring Idris Elba — was founded in 1980 with the intent of introducing city youth to something new. They are taught how to ride and care for horses, stay out of trouble and appreciate horsemanship.
Corey Brown, 14, has been riding with the club since he was three years old. He says sometimes his friends give him a hard time, but he says he doesn’t let it get to him.
“I'm not a follower. I'm a leader. This is me, “ he said, “and horses … if it wasn't for horses, I don't know where I would be.”
Terrell, 10, has also been riding for much of his young life. “I love to come to the stables and ride every day. I was scared at first and then I just got used to it,” he shared.
Meanwhile, 7-year-old Ayana says she loves to ride and is excited to see the new facility, “because you can have all this room. You can sleep in the top. You got so much room in the back.”
It’s in the heart of Strawberry Mansion where inner city youth are exposed to horsemanship. They learn to stay out of trouble, respect themselves and their elders, and become young leaders.
“To have kids that I've seen grow up in Strawberry Mansion, who were riding,” said Larry Lane with Friends of East Park, “now they have a new facility that they and the younger generation can grow in.”