December 2020/January 2021 Issue

The News East Coast Horse Owners Need To Know OUR TH YEAR 1993 - PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 280 LANC., PA 17604 Vol. 27 No. 11 December 2020/January 2021 (Continued on page 20) By Suzanne Bush Erin Brown’s love of horses has taken her far, but not far from home. She’s a Philly girl, with all the “baggage” Philly girls carry. Proudly. She’s loyal to her friends, kind to horses, not afraid to speak her mind and always ready to help others. On top of all that, there’s the movie thing. Con- crete Cowboy? The movie filmed last year in Philadelphia, starring Idris Elba. “During the movie I was a consultant. You may see me in a couple of scenes as an extra and as a stunt double; you may have to just figure out which one is Erin. Riding,” she laughs. It turns out, she’s also modest. Before Hollywood came knocking at the door of Phila- delphia’s internationally famous urban riding scene, before she became a top competitive rider, before she taught riding, Brown was a wide-eyed little girl, visit- ing an exotic farm in the city. She was just six years old when her father introduced her to Fletcher Street Stables. It was there that Brown first started riding, and where even in her little-kid eyes, she recognized something profound. “My dad took me by there one day—there were horses, cats and chickens.” And something else. “It was history right there.” She cherish- es that history, carries it with her and is dedicated to protecting and preserving it. In fact, Fletcher Street, in the Strawberry Man- sion section of the city, has been home to riders and stables for more than 100 years. In 2017, the Fletcher Street Stables were even showcased in an art exhibition at the Barnes Foundation. Algerian-born French artist Mohamed Bourouis- sa had seen a book of photos—in Paris!—of the Fletcher Street riders and was so inspired that he moved to Strawberry Mansion Erin Brown, the Concrete Cowgirl, on one of Philadelphia’s most iconic streets. Brown, the former manager of Fletcher Street Stables and a consultant and stunt double for Concrete Cowboy, starring Idris Elba, is executive director of the recently created Philadelphia Urban Riding Academy. Photo by Ricky Codio of The Mannequin Factory Out of Tragedy, New Film and Organization Cement the Legacy of the Urban Cowboy for almost a year, to live near and get to know the people who ride and care for the horses of Fletcher Street. For months he photo- graphed, rode with and inspired local artists to help celebrate the stables. Their work was shown along with Bourouissa’s at the Barnes. From Fletcher Street to Chamounix As she became a more competitive rider, Brown moved to Monastery Stables on Kitchens Lane in the Mount Airy section of the city. Soon after, she moved on and boarded and rode at Chamou- nix Stables, home to the nationally recognized Work to Ride program where disadvantaged urban youth learn to ride and to compete in equestrian sports, such as polo. “When I was 19, I went back to managing Fletcher Street, and also around that time I was a riding instructor at Work to Ride and ran the program for new attendees.” Now 36, Brown regards the network of urban stables in Phil- adelphia as an important avenue for young people who have the potential to be great equestri- ans, but who lack access to the suburban equestrian centers that receive far more attention. A Friendship, an Opportunity, then Tragedy At Fletcher Street Stables, Brown met Eric Miller, whose passion in life was horses. Ac- cording to Miller’s sister Elise Bey, he kept horses and gave neighborhood kids the oppor- tunity to ride and enjoy horses. “To give them an escape from the everyday life in an urban neighborhood,” she told ABC News. Miller was, according to people who knew him, a kind, funny and generous man. Brown says that Miller kept his hors- es at Fletcher Street, and they became good friends. Inside... Prison inmates and retired racehorses are a winning combination … pg. 4 Horsey books for holiday giving (or getting though the winter) … pg. 17 …and much more! Our annual Holiday Gift Guide … pgs. 12-16