A macro look at where diversity, equity, and inclusion stand in the horse world right now
By L.A. Sokolowski
This article is reprinted from the May/June 2024 issue of USDF Connection.
We learn to ride dressage by letters. Three of the newest— DEI, for diversity, equity, and inclusion—test our flexibility, “forward thinking,” and harmony, not with our horses but with previously underrepresented and overlooked equine enthusiasts.
When it comes to DEI, “How are we doing?” is as complex a question as the aids for an upper-level dressage movement. This macro-level look at the current state of DEI in the horse world is about more than the struggle to fit different kinds of hair into riding helmets; it’s about how historically marginalized people are working to fit in at the barn, the show, and the dressage arena.
Barriers to Entry
Before Patricia E. Kelly founded Ebony Horsewomen Inc. in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1984, she served as a US Marine during the Vietnam War, so she understands confronting opposition. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the nonprofit organization, which comprises an urban riding center, equine-assisted psychotherapy services, and a therapeutic-riding program that changes lives for youth, families, and veterans in the greater Hartford area.
Kelly was recognized in 2014 as one of CNN’s Top 10 Heroes of the Year—a gesture that she calls “very hopeful”—but says that “We’re still a long way from diversity, equality, and inclusion because, economically, the middle class has been all but erased. [Lack of] affordability to ride, for a lot of people, regardless of color, continues to add to the perception that there is little to no diversity in the horse world.”
Lack of affordability to ride adds to the perception that there is little to no diversity in the horse world.
—Patricia E. Kelly, founder, Ebony Horsewomen
“The equestrian world operates on tradition,” says Mikhail Proctor, of Lexington, Kentucky, US Equestrian’s (USEF) director of membership, DEI, and development since 2022. “It’s slow to ideas that could offer something better. You’re inside an exclusive tradition that’s not necessarily racism, but more classism.”
Are economic classism and racism one and the same? Kelly isn’t sure. “Wealth development is under siege; and in terms of a business model, there is still an ‘adversity to diversity’ that implies that if a person of color is operating or buying into a business, then its service is no longer ‘top drawer.’ It is a cliché that everyone’s money is the same color green. It is not.”
CNN photo courtesy of Ebony Horsewomen Inc.
Kelly recalls an awkward exchange in a Girl Scouts of America office, where she had inquired about Junior Horseback Riding badges.
“You have horses?” the GSA staffer asked.
“Yes,” Kelly replied.
“In your backyard?”
“No. I am running an equestrian center with about 20 horses,” she explained, to the staffer’s evident surprise.
If classism feels alive and well, so does an excruciatingly uncomfortable fact of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) life: colorism. Colorism has long existed in various cultures, with lighter-complected people being considered more attractive, intelligent, and “promotable” than those whose skin is darker. Even today, says Kelly, lighter-skinned riders find greater acceptance in the equestrian world.
Black riders have faced outright segregation, as well, points out Denise Quirk, PhD, who has curated a number of exhibits since the US Hunter Jumper Association’s Wheeler Museum opened its doors in 2009.
“Segregation barred Black people from equal participation in all manner of public and private life, including horse shows and riding clubs,” Quirk says. “While there were often Black trainers and grooms behind the scenes, Black riders were rarely allowed in the show ring.” Those who did make it in, like 1961 National Horse Show Open Jumper champion rider Charles “Sonny” Brooks (whose father managed the stable at Fairfield County Hunt Club in Connecticut), tended to be fairer-skinned, she notes.
In order to participate, Black people did what they’d been forced to do in many other sectors: create their own parallel spaces. According to Quirk, “Black horse people, business owners, and landholders in the South and Midwest founded and supported ‘colored horse shows’ that showcased hunters and jumpers, and sometimes steeplechase and flat races.” Competitors came from Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia. “Biannual shows, hosted by the Fredericksburg Colored Hunt Club in Virginia, offered generous prize money and trophies, were popular social outings, and were held as benefits for the local Black American Legion Post.”
DEI Builds Impulsion
When Proctor was in his early twenties, he interned at the Kentucky Equine Adoption Center, where he built an unlikely partnership with an untouched rescue project horse called Goliath. The pair went on to win the male gold individual championship title at the 2019 USEF/American Vaulting Association National Championships. Trying different horses and disciplines taught the young Black horseman the subtle differences between competing against the clock and showing in front of a judge.
“I steered away from more subjective classes,” he says. “I know I’ve worked as hard as the next rider.”
When Proctor joined the USEF staff, the organization’s mission (evolving out of an EHV-1 outbreak, Ukraine-relief response, and restructuring of its Eventing Elite Program Task Force) was to “Ride United. Grow Together.” The USEF has indeed “grown together” since then, he says. He believes that the organization is in “a unique position [to lead change] because we have so much buy-in from our staff and members to embrace the right ideals. Once we knew where the challenges were, we could see where to move next.”
Proctor calls the issues “good challenges” and says that USEF memberships and fans grew “significantly” in 2023. He points to such new programs as Kids Club Stable Stars, the launch of Opportunity Week to reinforce the transformative power of horses for diverse communities, and a promotional slam-dunk when mainstream media including Rolling Stone and Variety magazines talked up the 2024 Paris Olympics dressage commercial produced as a collaborative effort between NBC and music superstar Megan Thee Stallion, with assistance from the USEF and top US dressage pairs (see “Collection: Ooh La La! US Dressage Pairs with Rapper Megan Thee Stallion for Fiery Paris Promo,” March/April).
Are things a work in progress? Sure. “But some progress,” Proctor says, “is better than none.”
Offering more initiatives is a good place to start. In 2021, the USEF launched its Community Outreach Program, which currently recognizes 28 Community Outreach Organizations across 13 states, including Puerto Rico. The USEF Opportunity Fund has awarded a total of nearly $200,000 to 20 organizations. But challenges, like fences, need the right approach; and the right approach for one rider might not fit the strides of another.
“Don’t put everyone in the same bucket. Don’t target minority riders with the assumption that they all need ‘help,’” Proctor says, adding that doing so is “not intentional. It’s an accustomed response.”
“Help” and access aren’t the same thing, he stresses.
Minority kids can’t realize they have a passion for horses if they can’t be around them.
– Mikhail Proctor, USEF director of membership, DEI, and development
“Community outreach generally isn’t hurting for underwriting. What is lacking is accessibility. Minority kids can’t realize they have a passion for horses if they can’t be around them. I’m hopeful about where we are headed, and more access and opportunity will build more knowledgeable mindsets.”
According to Jayne Bailey, nothing builds respect like winning. For six years, the USDF bronze medalist has owned and operated Dressage by Jayne in Dexter, Michigan, 45 minutes outside Detroit, where she trains horses and riders up to Prix St. Georges. She has been featured in the Equestrians of Color Photography Project, founded by equestrian photographers Erica Hills, Bethany Pastorial, and Anna Smolens; and photographed by Renae Parsons, one of the talented partners with the project who provide their work pro bono.
The Black equestrienne still recalls her mother asking, as she combed her three year-old daughter’s hair, why she was crying. “I told her I was sad because I couldn’t ride horses,” Bailey says. “Because all I saw was only white people getting to ride horses.”
Her mother would have none of that: “We can start you with lessons tomorrow.”
Today, aspiring equestrians of color can find successful professionals like Bailey to serve as models, as well as evolving programs offering better access. Bailey says she is “starting to see more people of color opening barns with programs specifically tailored toward engaging children of color with horses. They are purposefully building programs to make Black and brown riders feel safe, welcome, and whole. Teaching is my favorite thing, so that really brings a lot of joy to my heart.”
Online Spaces Welcome DEI
Bailey says she tries “to stay connected with Black riders online.” The down sides of social media and other online communities are well documented, but to their credit, they have “created a space where BIPOC riders can connect,” she says. “It can feel a little lonely, especially as a Black professional in the dressage world, but knowing that I can build relationships with other Black professionals online has been a big help mentally.”
Some virtual communities have proven to be safe spaces for new faces. When Shelly (Tsai-Yi) Watts, a business entrepreneur of AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) descent, launched Muirneen Equestrian clothing in 2021, she lit up the BIPOC community—not only for launching the first “sight unseen” catalog of equestrian models chosen not for their looks but for their diversity, but also for hosting town hall-style virtual meetings, during which no discussion was off the table.
Muirneen’s inaugural town hall welcomed Chanel Robbins, the Canadian rider spotlighted in the March 2023 New York Times article “Black Equestrians Want to Be Safe. But They Can’t Find Helmets”, which examined the relationship between hair types and styles and the design of equestrian protective headgear, and how wearer safety is affected. Every town hall included equestrian-specific American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters to ensure that the discussions were fully accessible.
When Watts started Muirneen (named after her first horse), she found “a dismal amount of racial diversity and size inclusivity in horse magazines, websites, and shows.” Having ridden as a child, she returned 20 years later to begin riding with her daughter and was surprised at the lack of diversity showcased. As a half-marathoner, Watts was accustomed to seeing runners of all colors in sport magazines and “was disappointed that I did not see equestrians of color featured in magazines or clothing websites. I knew I needed to do something to change that paradigm.”
Muirneen’s online town halls united riders who previously had felt invisible. Watts heard stories from BIPOC participants who said they’d never seen another rider who looked like them until these virtual meetings. “They told me how it made them feel seen and less like an outlier in horse sports.”
At the town halls, “It was powerful to see riders and corporate brands inquisitive and willing to have meaningful conversations,” Watts says. “Healthy debate is how we grow.”
Equestrian brands and retailers seem to be getting the message that embracing DEI is good for the bottom line as well as for individual enthusiasts. According to Kelly, Ariat, Dover Saddlery, and Smart- Pak are among the companies that are featuring more riders of color in their retail imaging.
Real-Life Socializing
“The different ways that people socially gather around the horse can do a lot to bring different worlds together,” Quirk says. She cites robust participation in Black trail-riding groups including the Houston MLK Day Ride, Creole Trail Ride, Crazy Faith Riders of New Jersey, and Ebony Horsemen Saddle Club in North Carolina.
“That intersection between our love of the horse and mutual interest in saving open space and trails,” says Quirk, “might be our ticket to coming together.”
This May, Ebony Horsewomen will hold its second annual Black Boots Awards, honoring Black equestrians who have made significant contributions to the community. The gala is scheduled to be held at the newly opened Mary Fields Museum and Conference Center, named in memory of “Stagecoach Mary” (1832-1914), a Black woman who was born a slave and became the first African-American female Star Route US Postal Service mail carrier. Current US international dressage competitor Anna Buffini is a 2024 Black Boots Awards nominee.
Letters for All: P Is for Para-Dressage
Para-dressage—an FEI discipline for dressage riders with permanent, measurable physical disabilities—is rapidly gaining a foothold as part of the greater dressage community. Virginia-based para-dressage competitor Veronica Gogan, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis as a teenager, says, “I love working with my Virginia Dressage Association/Northern Virginia Chapter (VADA/NOVA). They had added para-dressage classes to prize lists and schooling shows before I had ever started showing para!”
A gap remains between the athletes starting out in para-dressage and those who have reached the elite levels, Gogan says.
“So much has been put into top performers, but there’s almost no support for riders who want to show at the national and schooling-show levels. This is the kind of sport where you can be at the top for decades, but where does that leave the rest of us still trying? If you’re a para rider, showing is more arduous because every step is more complicated,” she says. Fortunately, though, “I’ve never been to a venue that hasn’t tried to be accessible. I’ve never felt like anyone wanted to keep the ‘wheeled riff-raff’ out.”
“The equestrian world has always been welcoming,” says fellow Virginian and para-dressage athlete Shannon Duffy, a prior Muirneen Town Hall guest. Born with a congenital upper-limb deficiency, Duffy moved from the hunter to dressage rings and learned to balance herself and her horse with a three-pound prosthetic on one arm.
Duffy adapted gracefully, and dressage shows—and even the judges—are doing the same, including one judge who was startled when Duffy’s prosthetic popped off mid-test, right in front of the judge’s box.
“I had to reach over, pop it back in, and continue the test,” Duffy says. With a laugh, she adds, “The judge wrote, ‘Mechanical failure’ and ‘Good for you for catching it quickly!’”
Inside Leg to Outside Possibilities
“Let’s branch out of our narrow confines,” suggests Proctor, referring to the typically insular horse world. He likens the future to a teacup ride at an amusement park: “We can keep going around in the same circles again and again, or we can discover a whole Magic Kingdom out there waiting for us.”
Watts advocates for continued conversations among horse lovers from all backgrounds and walks of life.
“Collecting stories makes us better listeners,” she says. “It makes us think less about what makes us different and more about what makes us the same: horses.”
L.A. Sokolowski is a New York-based, award-winning multiplatform journalist, image/brand consultant, and nonprofit advisor.
[…] There’s so much more awareness about opening doors in our sport than there was even just a couple of years ago — but there’s also a long way to go, still. This piece, from the USDF, touches base with several movers and shakers in the DEI space, including BIPOC equestrians and leaders and a representative from the para-equestrian community, to find out what’s being worked on, what still needs to be done, and how we can all help make our sport a much more inclusive one. Read it here. […]