{"id":865063,"date":"2026-09-29T19:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T19:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/865063\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T19:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T19:44:11","slug":"new-documentary-spotlights-phillys-black-cowboys-on-fletcher-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/865063\/","title":{"rendered":"New Documentary Spotlights Philly\u2019s \u201cBlack Cowboys\u201d on Fletcher Street"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNews<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The short film offers an intimate look at the North Philly riding club, its young riders, and the fight to preserve its legacy.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Young Ellis Ferrell brushes a horse in the short documentary Fletcher Street. \/ Photograph courtesy of Global Cinematic Society<\/p>\n

David Darg and Jannat Gargi\u2019s new short documentary about North Philly\u2019s Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club<\/a> is full of visually striking and emotionally impactful moments. Kids confidently brushing and feeding horses in the stables. Founder and witty elder statesman Ellis \u201cEl-Dog\u201d Ferrell imparting wisdom and cracking jokes. His son and the club\u2019s VP Darrin Ferrell sitting down on a bench with a nervous rider for an talk strategy and build confidence.<\/p>\n

But the most poignant scene in Fletcher Street<\/a> \u2014 now touring film festivals around the country \u2014 shows the small cavalry of kids and adults galloping through a Philly park with smiles on their faces. They take turns hoisting a big colorful Juneteenth flag as they go. And when one of the youngsters loses his grip, Darrin\u2019s right there to help the kid get back up on that horse.<\/p>\n

Thanks to a news articles, TV news segments, and that 2020 Idris Elba feature film Concrete Cowboy<\/a>, people are aware of the urban cowboy \u201cphenomenon\u201d in Philadelphia. But the tradition goes back hundreds of years \u2014 as El-Dog likes to say, \u201cThere have always been horses on Fletcher Street\u201d \u2014 and never has FSURC\u2019s day-to-day struggles and triumphs felt so vivid as in this film.<\/p>\n

Fletcher Street, which features music composed by James Poyser of the Roots, was executive produced by Ahmir \u201cQuestlove\u201d Thompson. You\u2019ll also find familiar names like Shawn Gee, Tariq \u201cBlack Thought\u201d Trotter, and Jeffrey Lurie in the credits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people do know that there are urban cowboys, Black cowboys, in the city, but they may not know exactly what it\u2019s all about,\u201d says Darg, pointing out that the North Philly club is always search for more funding and more space. \u201cCities need clubs like Fletcher Street, not just for horses, but people like Darren and Nas [volunteer CEO Nas Naidoo] who run the club and are doing this type of programming for young kids. It\u2019s a legacy. It\u2019s an institution. It needs more attention, and so we made the film to help spotlight that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Darrin says the film makes him think of the future of the club. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping the kids take heed to what we\u2019re trying to do,\u201d he says, recalling the days of building it up without resources like smartphones and internet.<\/p>\n

Perhaps just as important is the impact on the public, as the club looks to improve and expand. \u201cWe need a cushion,\u201d says Darrin. \u201cWe need a nest egg.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re out of space there,\u201d says Darg of the Fletcher Street facilities. \u201cYou go by \u2014 they\u2019re just they\u2019re crammed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The club was promised larger stable facilities in East Fairmount Park back in 2023, but they haven\u2019t gotten access to it yet.<\/p>\n

\"Aziyah<\/p>\n

Aziyah \u201cZa\u201d Blackwell rides through the city in her high school graduation cap and gown. \/ Photograph courtesy of Global Cinematic Society<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how it works,\u201d says Darrin. \u201cWe\u2019re very patient. We\u2019ve been at Fletcher Street forever, so another couple years won\u2019t hurt us at all. We have a core group of kids that are great, and we hope we get more to come. And one once we get [the new stables,] we can take them over there. It\u2019ll come. Patience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"News The short film offers an intimate look at the North Philly riding club, its young riders, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[88,206],"class_list":["post-865063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}