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A slice of the American West in Queens
Place Details
Borough : Queens
Neighborhood : Howard Beach
Place Matters Profile
Deep in the heart of Queens, the Federation of Black Cowboys keeps some 25 horses at Cedar Lane Stables. Viewing the stark contrast of the stables and rodeo ring with the Howard Beach tract development, it is hard to imagine finding a comparable situation anywhere else in New York City, but somehow it seems to make sense. And the cowboys are glad they have this space.
The Cedar Lane Stables utilize a portion of about 25 acres of city-owned land with a corral the size of a football field, a recently renovated horse barn, as well as a portable holding office for the federation. The stables and horse stalls were upgraded in 2014, but for some years were dilapidated and structurally questionable. The horses held within were, and are, by contrast extremely well groomed, healthy, and, even in the middle of a January cold spell, happy.
While the federation owns the majority of the horses, a few are held over from the
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Deep in the heart of Queens, the Federation of Black Cowboys keeps some 25 horses at Cedar Lane Stables. Viewing the stark contrast of the stables and rodeo ring with the Howard Beach tract development, it is hard to imagine finding a comparable situation anywhere else in New York City, but somehow it seems to make sense. And the cowboys are glad they have this space.
The Cedar Lane Stables utilize a portion of about 25 acres of city-owned land with a corral the size of a football field, a recently renovated horse barn, as well as a portable holding office for the federation. The stables and horse stalls were upgraded in 2014, but for some years were dilapidated and structurally questionable. The horses held within were, and are, by contrast extremely well groomed, healthy, and, even in the middle of a January cold spell, happy.
While the federation owns the majority of the horses, a few are held over from the stables before the cowboys took them over in 1998, when they won an open-bid lease from the NYC Parks Department. The stables formerly had what is known as "rough board," which means that the horses were given a place to stay but had to be fed and groomed by their owners. As of 2015, the stables are "full board," This means that the organization is responsible for caring for resident horses.
The federation was formed in 1994 by a group of like-minded horse riders, most of whom were members of another organization, the Black Cowboy Association of Brooklyn. While the Black Cowboys of Brooklyn had a primarily social and fraternal function, the federation lists community service and youth involvement as its primary goals. Application for membership is open to all, but each application is reviewed with an eye to character, a record of community service, and skills to contribute to the Federation’s daily and general operations. With regard to cowboy activity, each applicant must at least have access to a horse and, as cowboy Lenard Herbert slyly adds, "You gotta have a cowboy hat." Although the federation's name is gender-specific, membership is open to women, who ride as the Cedar Lane Jewels. All of the members have and regularly use individually designated cowboy nicknames.
See the cowboys on video
The cowboys ride publicly at a variety of high-profile parades and marches, including the African American Day Parade in Harlem and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and hold semi-annual rodeos that can draw over 5,000 people. The federation's primary activity, however, is working with "inner-city youth," teaching them the fundamentals of horsemanship and the history of black cowboys in the American West. While the last part of their mission may sound like an obligatory footnote, the cowboys show a real knowledge of this history and a willingness to look at it with a critical eye. Warren Small, a court officer and the cowboys' de facto spokesman, spoke of both the glories of the West and the tortured, complicated relationship that black cowboys had with Native Americans, "Black cowboys were freed slaves and had much in common with Native Americans. We worked together but were also adversaries; it was a paradox because the black cowboys, like other cowboys, were fundamentally freedom-loving people and wanted the same things that other Americans had, even when that came at a cost to other groups." The cowboys have now collaborated on a joint pow-wow/rodeo with members of the Cherokee nation. They also network with other east coast cowboy organizations, some as far away as North Carolina.
Individuals come to the federation from far and wide, and for myriad reasons, but most name an early love of horses as impetus for becoming members. One of the group’s founders, Willie “Jack” Dunne, was “basically a cowboy at birth.” Born in Louisiana in 1938, Dunne grew up as a sharecropper’s son, and recalls that there were very few aspects of daily life on the farm that did not involve horses. His grandfather, Alex Evans, was a significant influence, and taught him all aspects of horsemanship. James ‘”J.R” Rogers was born in Tennessee and was also raised by sharecroppers. “I been messing with horses since I was a little fella, running this, and running that,” he says. “I came to New York when I was young, and I kept seeing horses in the street. And I asked, ‘where’d ya’ll get them horses from?!’ And as I got a little older, I fell in love with ‘em, and I’ve been here ever since; since when they first started with the federation.”
R.W. “Curly” Hall was born in Jamaica, Queens. He began riding at age 8, and three years later, began shining shoes to earn enough money to pay for rides on weekends in Forest Hills. He joined the federation over twenty years ago. “I’m trying to transfer the love to the children, let them know about the Old West, he says. “What it meant for us to be black cowboys. Or the first cow boy, because that’s where the name originated. The masters on the farm said, ‘Hey, boy. Go get my cow.’ And that’s where it came from.”
Eric “Red” Jackson was born in Hoboken and grew up in Georgia. Jackson moved to New York as a young man in 1979, but developed a tough circle of friends and a number bad habits. He joined a rehab program in 1996, began riding at Cedar Lanes four years later. His love of horses has taught him honesty and respect, and his association with the federation has helped him remain sober for almost two decades. Jackson focuses his work with the federation to helping others find a similar solace. “When I came here and joined the club in 2000, I got a certificate and everything. I’ll never forget that day. I’m like, ‘oh my god. I ain’t even graduated from school, but I got a certificate. The reason I’m still going on here for 15 years is because one day there’s going to be a child, or someone’s going to come through that gate, and get the same thing that I got. I want to make sure to give back something that was freely given to me.”
Dennis Corpus, who is known variously as “Ed” and “Stoney,” was introduced to horses at the age of three, when the milk man delivered to his grandmother’s store in Guatemala. His father placed him on one of the horses, and that was that. He joined the federation almost 30 years ago. “This place gives me both worlds. It gives me the city life, and it gives me the country life. It’s an opportunity that we offer others who may never get the chance to experience it if we weren’t around. It’s a lifestyle that you hardly even see on T.V. anymore, but it exists throughout the world. When you’re confined to the city, you tend to live within those limits. But this is real life elsewhere. And having it here within the city limits, it’s very unique.”
Ellis “Mountain Man” Harris lives and breathes the cowboy lifestyle. Harris relocated to New York from Virginia in 1970, and later joined the Black Redemption Rodeo. After spending years wrestling steer, and handling bulls and wild horses, he returned to the city and promptly joined the federation. “These folks have a good thing going with the schools. I like teaching the kids, and doing the chuck back and cooking. I do everything that the real cowboys do. Dress, talk, everything. See how I’m speaking now? That’s how cowboys talk!”
The federation counts many strong females on their membership roster. Gloria Moore is an educator and came to the Federation for a number of reasons. He father was from North Carolina and told tales about the horses there. “There was a story that someone told about my grandfather, who would go to town in a horse and wagon, and the horse would take him home. I heard that from somebody else, not even from my father! And, you know, I was always intrigued by horses.” Although she resisted joining friends on weekend trips to Rocking Horse Ranch and Pine Grove, Moore eventually met and married fellow Federation member, “JR.” She laughs, “and he said he always wanted a horse. And I’m like, here in New York?! Like, I’m born in Brooklyn Hospital! We don’t have horses here! But he was insistent upon it, and he met the guys down here and became a member. And I love the organization and what they stand for. And I felt that I could contribute a lot as an educator, spreading the word about the life of the West, and the blacks in the West. And I said, well I can join, too! And I did, in 2009.”
Federation president Sheryl Kesha Morse's father claimed to be the first black man permitted to take out trail rides in Prospect Park. “He shined shoes to save for horse riding. And eventually the park had him taking out trails. He’s a reigning trainer, and he’s been around the world training in reigning horses. And for me, being around horses gave me a connection to my dad. Cause he was always traveling, and he was never in our home, but when he passed through, I saw this tall, statuesque good-looking man with a cowboy hat, and cowboy boots. And I always wanted to be connected to that. I remember as a little kid, they bought me a Howdy Doody puppet, and that puppet had on Western gear. So I always felt very strong about begin around cowboys and horses.”
Morse joined the stable in the early 1990s. “I have a love for this lifestyle,” she says. “And I think it’s real important, because it’s something unique that can be shared with inner city children. You can capture their minds for a moment, and bring them something other than what’s going on in their community. Once you get them, then you can talk to them about life skills; about morals and values, and how to behave. Also, because everybody has a skill, we can use the horses and this place to impart skills on inner city children. And these are things that they would not have the opportunity to be exposed to.”
A number of young people who started out with the federation found ways to transfer skills learned around the stables to careers. "Big Sexy" became a big machine operator. Kareem is a horse trainer. Pam is in the mounted unit. Kesha notes, “so we have saved a number of children’s lives. So, it’s important that we keep this as a place where children can get away from, and even young adults, cause it’s not just children. We have adults who come here, and they sit by the water, or sit with us, or watch the horses, just to get away from the daily trials of trying to pay the rent, or, just life situations. This is an oasis. A sanctuary away from the inner city.”
As with everything that is leased and not owned in New York, the future of the Federation of Black Cowboys and the stables cannot be certain. The federation's long-term goal would be the construction of a museum dedicated to the history of black cowboys in the American West, a professional-quality riding facility, and classroom space. In January 2003, though, the cowboys were out on South Conduit Avenue and Linden Boulevard, wearing chaps and sandwich-board signs that proclaimed "Help save our barn," by which they meant their entire stables. At the time, the cowboys owed the city $60,000 in back rent. The financial disagreement, though somewhat unclear, was certainly serious. Happily, the dispute was resolved.
Unfortunately, the federation was closed for a little over a year and half, until May 2015, as the cowboys were forced to vacate their steeds in order to complete renovations. Members boarded their horses at various other stables, some as far away as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, many of which were significantly more expensive than Cedar Lane. The organization lost critical revenue, and a number of cowboys lost their mounts. Those who were able to hang on began bringing their horses back in the late spring, but the federation is still susceptible and concerned with the approaching renewal of its lease with the Parks Department, which has owned the land since 1938. The cowboys were able to secure a renewal in 2007, but they are not the most popular neighbors in Howard Beach, an area that, as one cowboy says delicately, "is not too partial to diversity." Nearby privately held stables are turning into two-story developments and, despite the Parks Department's ownership of the land, the decommissioning of the stables did not seem too remote a possibility. While cowboys were meant to roam, it's hard to imagine the Federation setting up shop anywhere else in the city.
Morse is cautious but optimistic. “We’re alive. We are well. And we’re trying to keep this going. You’ve heard about what’s trying to be done to the carriages and horses in Central Park. If we lose this, there’s nothing left. There are other stables around, but those stables are confined to their specific location. They don’t get exposed to the city. Whoever comes, they get to ride in their place, and that’s it. We’re bigger than that. We touch all of the boroughs. Hopefully we always can.”
[Updated November 2015]
Sources
Burke, Kerry (Columbia News Service). "Brooklyn's Black Cowboys Ride an Urban Range." March 13, 2002.
Estep, Maggie. "Even Cowboys Get the Blues." Village Voice. June 11, 2002.
Federation of Black Cowboys. http://www.federationofblackcowboys.com.
Holley, Brandon. "The Wild, Wild East." Time Out New York. November 6-13, 1997.
Interview with Lenard Herbert, January 12, 2003.
Interview with Warren Small, January 12, 2003.
Interview with Federation of Black Cowboys, September 11, 2015.
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Cedar Lane Stables Historical Sign.
Ruhling, Nancy A. "Urban Cowboys." New York Newsday. June 1, 2001.
Tucker, Eric (Associated Press). "Black Cowboys Hit the Trail in New York." January 7, 2003.
Vanden Brook, Tom. "Black Cowboys Pass on Love of Horses to Schoolchildren." October 5, 2003.
