At Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, the start of school is celebrated with horses and fun

It was the annual Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club’s (FSURC) Saddles for Success back-to-school giveaway. On Saturday afternoon, more than 30 children from the surrounding Strawberry Mansion community gathered to collect their book bags and play chase with goats, geese, hens, and a duck nicknamed Aflac.

But the horses, quietly watching all the hubbub, are always the true stars of the show.

FSURC founder Ellis “El Dog” Ferrell watched as children surrounded him eating lunch provided by The People’s Kitchen.

Ferrell said former Philadelphia Eagle Ron Jaworski made this year’s backpack giveaway possible: “They gave the book bags, shoes, composition books. That’s a good start.”

“We’ll teach anybody how to ride. It don’t cost you anything, and it’s something to do.”

In addition to Jaworski’s charitable organization, Jaws Youth Playbook, the annual event was also supported by NFL Films and the DeNicola Family Foundation.

“I’m happy to give book bags. The bags are full, that’s what I’m happy about,” Ferrell said.

For both the youths and the horses, FSURC has become a safe haven. Ferrell said there are currently about 15 horses at FSURC, many of them rescues, who found a second home and an abundance of youthful adoration on Fletcher Street near Fairmount Park.

And for the local youths, FSURC provides a welcoming environment where children bond over a love for horses and urban cowboy culture.

“We’ll teach anybody how to ride. It don’t cost you anything, and it’s something to do. I want to keep them out of trouble,” Ferrell said.

“Today is a great day for the kids. It’s all about the kids.”

Interacting with horses, according to research on equine therapy, provides emotional healing help. So while the kids are petting, feeding, riding, and grooming the horses, they are also developing social skills, emotional awareness, increased problem-solving skills, and empathy.

And critically in this post-pandemic world, feeling less depression, anxiety, and isolation.

» READ MORE: Parents see own health spiral as their kids’ mental illnesses worsen

“Today is a great day for the kids. It’s all about the kids,” said Darrin Ferrell, who is stepping into his father’s shoes to run the club.

Darrin Ferrell said his next dream is to have a classroom onsite to provide academic instruction, especially in the summer, along with horse care and riding lessons while his father, El Dog, wants to take the children to more rodeos and teach them the art of barrel racing.

Now in his 80s, El Dog Ferrell has spent a lifetime sharing his love of horses with any child who showed an interest. In a video about the creation of the club, Ferrell remembers when Philadelphia was home to a large number of African American horse enthusiasts.

Many like himself had migrated north for work but still enjoyed their horses for fun.

“I lived in Florida. When I came up here in ‘53, ‘54, there were horses everywhere. We had access to a lot of horses,” Ferrell said.

The world of the Philadelphia urban cowboy was fictionalized in the 2020 movie Concrete Cowboy starring Idris Elba. “I would love for Fletcher Street to be recognized as sacred ground,” Elba said when the movie premiered.

» READ MORE: How Idris Elba turned a surprise Philly encounter into ‘Concrete Cowboy’

But will Black cowboy culture continue to thrive in Philadelphia?

No, El-Dog said, remembering all the stables and members now gone.

But his grandson, Milan Ferrell, 25, disagreed. “He’s thinking about what use to be.

“See all the kids around? They’re here every time. It will never fully die out. We are not going to let it.”