Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club is a Pennsylvania non-exempt charitable organization. The relationships between man and animal fuel an immense source of pride, accomplishment and sense of worth and reveal astounding, arresting and contradictory testaments to pre-conceived notions and theories that encircle the young black male in America.Among the visual and emotional juxtapositions, are common themes that run through most stories of family; love mixed with discipline, laughter tinged with disappointment, pride in one's own, and those that are specific to places like Fletcher Street; kids without homes, absent father's and drug addicted mothers, 12 year olds with wrap sheets, grown men who have lost too much to the streets, isolation, and the absence of belief- in themselves, their city, their country.In the background of Fletcher Street, looms gentrification. It is important to note that many examples can be provided of the positive, intangible benefits of similar programs with kids (and adults) and horses. Fletcher Street's horse community is for many children, the only safe place to be mentored, to feel good about themselves, to learn important lessons in responsibility, discipline and reward.
Fletcher Street aims to expand upon the group of positive black male mentors for kids through the process of learning to ride and care for horses, providing them a desperately needed alternative to the street corner. The access to learning and computers will also benefit many of the grown males in the community who have little opportunity or lack of knowledge and education in today's technology, which is essential to them being able to seek and maintain employment opportunities. Martha Camarillo, a professional photographer, came to know the men, boys and horses of Fletcher Street in 2005 and captured their images in her critically acclaimed book, published by Powerhouse.Martha grew close to the Fletcher Street family and community and became determined to tell their unique American … A ground-level, grassroots riding club in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood … And they, like their owners, have their own cruel experiences, many of them saved from low-end auctions and slaughterhouses. Rich personal stories interwoven with the community's struggle to retain its identity and future will challenge perceptions and shed light onto a neighborhood worth saving.latest news and progress on the documentary. Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, Work to Ride and the Black Cowboys Association are among the local organizations dedicated to continuing Philadelphia's tradition of urban horseback riding. Fletcher Street's riding community has been a part of the Philadelphia community for over 100 years. The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to inner-city horsemanship in north Philadelphia.. Part of a century-long tradition of black urban cowboys and horsemanship in Philadelphia, local horsemen maintain and care for horses and teach neighborhood youth to do so.

Unless Fletcher Street can stem the tide, there is a good chance that this hidden segment of American culture will slip away for good.Fletcher Street fascinates, frustrates and inspires.
They are diamonds in the rough, young men and horses, and small everyday accomplishments build strong bonds among steeds and riders. Surprisingly, yes. Fletcher Street is also happy to provide its own anecdotal evidence with its own children and young men that they have been and continue to be involved today in the Fletcher Street community.In having the attention of the kids through the aid of horses, Fletcher Street would like to use this vehicle to expand opportunities by having a clubhouse that has computers, internet access and tutors to help kids with homework as well as a place for them to develop goals and help prepare them to graduate and move beyond high-school and the streets. The horses of Fletcher Street, with names like; Red Pony, Champ, Power, White Chick, One Eye and Easy Like Sunday Morning, provide the unique window into Fletcher street's brotherhood. Donate online safely using your major credit card or PayPal account.As the men of Fletcher Street work hard to encourage participation and involvement in the activities around the barn, there is a constant struggle for financial support in order to provide the rudimentary supplies that enable them to upkeep horses and ponies and have enough tack and equipment on hand so no child is turned away.Therefore, donations to Fletcher Street Urban Riding are deeply appreciated and help provide for the following:Fletcher Street also has a long term goal of setting up a fund that will provide a college tuition grant, as the ultimate goal is through the horses, comes discipline and dreams, and a good education to fulfill them.Barn Supplies (lead ropes, halters, grooming equipment, hardware).Kids riding gear (as new kids learn to ride, they need boots, jeans, extra saddles). For many of those years, Fletcher Street was part of a larger urban horse community that numbered in over 50 stables throughout Philadelphia. The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club is a registered nonprofit whose mission is to “save and restore this historical, important facet of Philadelphia’s community, and most importantly, its children.” For most of the club’s 100-year existence, it was part of a larger urban horse riding community that boasted 50 stables. And as of last week, production has officially begun on the movie Concrete Cowboys. They have been here for years, when the African American community thrived in Philadelphia, before drugs and unemployment steadily encompassed healthy neighborhoods and they disintegrated into urban war zones.Despite it all, the horses have stayed, and they have because of the small, passionate, dedicated group of men determined to reclaim their neighborhood and their children. Fletcher Street is determined to preserve its legacy, children and horses.Fletcher Street book available from Powerhouse Books.Community outreach for the prevention of crime through Equestrian activities and mentoring. In this fight, they use the one thing that they know, love and trust, the horses.Conventionally perceived as symbols of social status and privilege, horses have long been an integral part to the Fletcher Street community. In the background looms gentrification. Unless Fletcher Street can stem the tide, there is a good chance that this hidden segment of American culture will slip away for good.Fletcher Street fascinates, frustrates and inspires.