Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club gets a new home

The horses of Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club (FSURC) are moving on up to the east side.

Ellis “El-Dog” Ferrell Jr., FSURC’s founder, was surrounded by a group of jubilant friends, family, elected officials, supporters, and youths on Tuesday, as he cut the ribbon on a deluxe $1.5 million East Fairmount Park stable, The Cliffs. The new facility includes 12 horse stalls, a wash stall, tack room, and hay loft. And for the humans — additional office space. The club will still maintain its original stables in Strawberry Mansion.

“We want to celebrate this new space,” said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Orlando Rendon. “[Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club] has long been a symbol of resilience and passion, of commitment and perseverance.”

When the Philadelphia Housing Authority built apartments for seniors across the street from the Strawberry Mansion stables about two years ago, Ferrell lost the corral space they had been using for riding and grazing. This led to discussions with City Council President Darrell L. Clarke about getting new space in Fairmount Park.

“We go way back,” said Ferrell, speaking about Clarke. “He grew up around Fletcher Street. He did something good for us. I’m sorry he’s leaving [City Council] because I might have been able to get a little bit more.”

The short journey from the cramped quarters at 26th and Fletcher Streets, to more spacious digs at 33rd and Oxford has taken Ferrell, 84, almost two decades since the official launch of the FSURC. For many years, the nonprofit struggled with lack of funds but not with lack of youths drawn to the horses. Ferrell often footed the bill himself for hay, feed, farriers, and veterinarians.

“I love horses, that was my thing.”

Nothing kept him from passing on the city’s Urban Cowboy culture to thousands of youths who would wander into the stables. It gave Ferrell an opportunity to not only teach them to ride, but also about the responsibility that comes with caring for a horse, as well as the importance of an education.

In 2021 Concrete Cowboy, starring Idris Elba, was filmed around the Fletcher Street stables and included some Fletcher Street riders. While it wasn’t the story of the club, it did give the world a glimpse into Urban Cowboy culture, and also sowed some confusion as others sought to cash in on FSURC’s new fame.

The club created an active Instagram page — @FletcherStreetUrbanRiding Club — to help protect itself and potential donors.

Corey Brown, 14, said FSURC changed his life. He has been infatuated with horses and riding since he was young. “I love horses, that was my thing,” he recalled. He also remembered incidents of bullying as other students called him a “weirdo” because of his equine interests.

Nakeya Glover, Brown’s mother, said she took him to the Fletcher Street stables when Brown was only 3 after her cousin told her about the organization. “He can ride backwards. He can ride standing on a horse,” said Glover.

“It helps to nurture something in life.”

Janet Carter, Ferrell’s former partner, said she has seen the therapeutic benefits of riding with their own grandchildren.

“One of my grandchildren was 14 and he was having a lot of problems in school. One summer he started coming to the stable on Fletcher Street and it turned his life around, " said Carter.

“It helps to nurture something in life. It made him happy. And what you get back from it is more than what you gave.”

There has been a strong Black cowboy culture in Philadelphia for over a century. “I lived in Florida. When I came up here in ‘53, ‘54, there were horses everywhere. We had access to a lot of horses,” Ferrell once explained.

» READ MORE: At Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, the start of school is celebrated with horses and fun

“If you got ages under you involved and those under them involved, then you got something that will last,” added Carter.

Ferrell ended his thank-you speech as he does many conversations — with an invitation. “Anybody who wants to learn to ride, we will teach you.”