Upper Marlboro (United States) (AFP) – At 16, Morissa Hall is a first-generation Black cowgirl and rising rodeo star, against the sport’s stereotypical whiteness and masculinity. Her goal is to inspire new riders with the help of her father Morse Hall, who coaches her and takes her to competitions, where “95% of the time, she’s the only little girl of color there.” She is part of a growing community of African American female riders in Maryland, just an hour away from Washington, DC, with champions as young as 12-year-old twins Reagan and Ryan Jackson. For Brittaney Logan, a member of a Black cowgirl collective, riding is a lifestyle: “We go to McDonald’s on our horses!” she tells AFP. “I want Black women especially to see that this is here.”
