December 2020/January 2021 Issue

Page 20 December 2020/January 2021 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Real Estate Out of Tragedy, New Film and Organization Cement the Legacy of the Urban Cowboy Miller had a troubled past, but Brown said he got involved with a project that might have changed everything for him. Ricky Staub, the founder of Neighborhood Film Company and co-owner Dan Walser got to know Miller while they were developing a movie, Concrete Cowboy, about Fletcher Street Stables. The larger themes of the movie are based on Greg Neri’s book, Ghetto Cowboy. But in Miller the producers found a real-life person who could give the ideas in the book dimension. “He helped the producers write the movie,” Brown says. “The producers went off a lot of his story, and they became good friends.” Through Miller, Brown met Staub and Walser. “Fast forward to a month or so before they started filming,” she says, “my friend got killed. He was shot up. He never got to see the movie come into being.” Concrete Cowboy, it turns out, became much more than a movie. Staub, Walser and Staci Hagenbaugh, the film’s location manager, embraced the history of Fletcher Street Stables and ded- icated themselves to protecting its future. “The producers knew my involvement with Eric. They started Philadelphia Urban Riding Academy (PURA),” Brown says. They wanted a formal organi- zation which could continue to serve the community and grow with it. “Because Fletcher Street has never been an actual organi- zation,” she says, “the producers wondered what they could do to keep this amazing thing going. Once Eric was killed, they asked if I would step up, and I said ‘of course!’” They set it up as a non-profit and are looking for a permanent home in Philadelphia. “The back- yards (where the urban stables had existed) have been gentri- fied,” she explains. “Philadelphia Urban Riding Academy (www. thepura.org ) is an extension—an outgrowth of the original Fletcher Street Stables. It was just starting as they were creating the movie. Ultimately, it’s to carry on the legacy of the Philadelphia urban cowboys.” Joining a Larger Conversation Brown says that over the years a lot of people have profited from the stories and history of Fletcher Street Stables. “A lot of times people have come through Fletcher Street,” she says. “Dif- ferent people who want to tell a story. They pay you and you never hear from them again. But Ricky, Dan and Staci really care. They’re on my executive board (at PURA). They’re friends, fam- ily, in it for the long haul.” And there are others, from outside Philadelphia who have become partners. Missy Clark, one of the nation’s top equitation coaches, is co-owner with her husband John Brennan of North Run, an elite training and boarding facility in Warren, VT and Wellington, FL. Clark encouraged Brown to get involved with the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). “She opened the door for me to get involved with the USEF External Thought Leaders Program,” aimed at fulfilling the USEF Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan. The goal, according to the USEF web- site, is to “ensure a welcoming environment for people from un- der-represented and under-served communities and evolve US Equestrian’s policies and practic- es to create a more inclusive sport for all participants and fans.” With Clark, Brown estab- lished a program called “Con- crete to Show Jumping.” She says it’s a way to “give children in the inner city the chance to see what life is like on the Grand Prix circuit. We thought the title was catchy, because I’m the Concrete Cowgirl.” A Unique, Life-changing Experience Brown says they’re currently working with the City of Phila- delphia for a permanent home for PURA. “We want a location that will be ours, that we can contin- ue to bring back what Fletcher Street was for me growing up and for generations before me and after me.” Nothing final yet, but she says it will likely be in West Philadelphia. “We still have to go through a few little hurdles.” She says the movie itself was an amazing experience. “Never in my life could I have imagined being around these celebrities whom I’ve watched on TV and in movies. They were interacting and talking with us just like we were all friends.” She says she was on the set every day during filming. “And then I saw the movie in its entirety a month ago. Actually watching it—they did an amaz- ing job of telling Eric’s story.” She thought a moment about her friend’s violent death. “It was such a huge loss for us all. They (Staub, Walser and Hagenbaugh) became really good friends with Eric.” There’s an incredible op- portunity that came out of the tragedy and loss, an opportunity whose implications would likely have thrilled Eric Miller. Brown, the Philly girl, the Concrete Cowgirl knows that it will take grit and determination to turn PURA into a fitting tribute to the Fletcher Street legacy. She looks forward to the many young people who will be inspired by all that PURA will offer, and believes that now is the time and Philadelphia is the place to make an enormous difference. “Some- one can tell you a million times ‘no,’ but there is that one ‘yes,’” she says. “If it’s in your heart, you go for it.” Concrete Cowboy had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2020. It’s avail- able now to watch on Amazon Prime. (Continued from page 1)