Don´t fence me in

The Urban Horsemen Community in Philadelphia goes back to a long tradition.
In the 1950 ́s people started replacing the horse-drawn carriages and hucksters in major cities in the United States of America by trucks. That is the birth of the Urban Riding culture in Philadelphia. The people who worked with the horses tended to be African Americans and a lot of these people had a love for their horses so they kept their animals even though they could not use them as working animals anymore. At that time Westerns dominated television in the United States and it was cool to be a cowboy what lead to the popularity of owning a horse.
However Philadelphia is unique to the United States to have such a huge Urban Riding culture. This comes along with the economics and development of the city. In the 70 ́s industries such as textile and brewery ́s left the inner-city borders to profit from a taxes release and left behind empty warehouses.
These abandoned warehouses were perfect for keeping horses because most of them already had a stable area. Horse owners begun squatting these warehouses and stables and it has developed a community that has been passed on from generation to generation.

Times changed and so did the Urban Horsemen Community. What was once a traditional horse community mixed up with influences of modern times.
The kids didn ́t care about a cowboy anymore. They don ́t want to wear cowboy hats or boots. They want to wear their sneakers, their jeans and their haircuts.

Over the years a lot of the older people died out and the generation that is now doesn ́t really embody a lot of the traditions. They just through the kids on the horse, let them ride and don ́t necessarily teach them the history behind the Urban Riding Culture.

Until now the city has had no interest in rundown areas in North and West Philadelphia but gentrification hits. Jordan Bullock, owner of a stable in North Philadelphia is concerned: "Unfortunately it seems like it is over (...) it could be the last year this year. it could be the last year next year. it ́s literally that close (...) because the changes have come so fast and so rapid (...) So the future is really really really bleak."