By Maggie Maginnis
This article received first place in the 2023 GMO Newsletter Awards for general interest articles for GMOs with fewer than 75 members. It appeared in the June 2023 Columbia Dressage and Combined Training Association Newsletter, Direct Rein.
When the first Kentucky Derby ran in May of 1875, 13 of the 15 jockeys were Black Americans. Oliver Lewis, a 19-year-old Black man rode the winning horse, Aristides. The horse’s trainer Ansel Williamson had been born into slavery in the mid-19th century and purchased by Robert Alexander, owner of Woodburn Stud in Kentucky, in where he worked as a trainer for the Woodburn horses. After emancipation, Williamson continued training horses. After his win at the first Kentucky Derby Williamson trained many more stakes winners.
You can read more about these two remarkable horsemen in this article from Past the Wire.
Prior to the Civil War (and for many years afterward), thoroughbred horse racing was the largest and most popular spectator event in America. Black Americans (both free and enslaved) were the leading trainers, jockeys and grooms for the sport. These men (women weren’t allowed to do this work) were skilled and cunning experts, often spending their entire lives working with horses.
After emancipation, racism quickly pushed Black Americans out of thoroughbred horse racing. In 1902, James Winkfield was the last Black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby (he also won it in 1901). After 1921, there were no black jockeys in the Derby at all until 2000.
If you haven’t read Geraldine Brooks’ newest book, Horse, you should. On the surface it’s a book about the famous thoroughbred racehorse, Lexington. But it’s also a meticulously researched story about the integral role both free and enslaved Black Americans played in the pre-Civil War racing industry and the complicated legacy of slavery in our country. Geraldine Brooks answered questions about Horse for the DBRL Online Author Talks last year. You can watch a recording of her talk to learn more about her research and writing process.
Of course Black Americans were also trainers and riders in many other equine sports, drivers, grooms, breeders, cowboys and Calvarymen. Black Americans shaped our developing country and the horse industry we see today. Racism may have kept many of their names out of recorded history, relegated them to roles out of view, or misplaced the recognition altogether, but there is still evidence that Black equestrians were leaders and essential workers in horse breeding, training and competition.
Here in Boone County, Tom Bass became a leading trainer in the Saddlebred industry. Born into slavery in Boone County, Missouri in 1859, Tom Bass eventually set up a barn in Kansas City and helped start the American Royal Horse Show. You can read more about him in Whisper on the Wind: The Story of Tom Bass: Celebrated Black Horseman by Bill Downey.
If you want to read more about other prominent Black equestrians, such as the Buffalo Soldiers, cowboys and today’s Compton Cowboys, I’ve compiled a list of relevant books at the Daniel Boone Regional Library here.
While racism has limited Black participation in modern times, there are notable Black equestrians in many disciplines throughout our history, including Sonny Brooks pictured above. He was the first–and currently the only–Black equestrian to be inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. Not only was he a very successful competitor but he was also known for his gentle riding style–check out that release in the photo–and his generosity in sharing knowledge with young riders. To learn more about Sonny Brooks and other Black equestrians I highly recommend the US Hunter Jumper Association’s recorded presentation and discussion about diversity and the history of Black Americans in the sport.
