Five young women are back home after an eye-opening trip to Fort Worth.
They live in Connecticut, but they're now connected to Texas in a way only a cowgirl can understand.
"At the barn, we like to say you're not a cowgirl until you fall off," 12-year-old Deanna Morgan said.
Has Deanna fallen off? "Yep." So, is she a cowgirl? "Uh-huh."
Deanna and the other four girls are members of the Young Ladies Dressage Team and Leadership Academy, a youth development program operated by the nonprofit Ebony Horsewomen, Inc., in Hartford.
"This academy is developed around the horse, horse training," founder Patricia E. Kelly said. "They ride every day they are at the barn, but it's also life skills, giving them a sense of purpose and beginning to understand themselves as women. To take them off of being body conscious, hair conscious and into what they're brains are all about."
Kelly founded Ebony Horsewomen in 1984. It started with a group of black equestrians who operated community programs and rode in rodeos. Within a few years, the mission changed and became a program to empower youth and guide them toward successful lives.
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Kelly, a former Marine who started riding horses as young girl, talked about her program's success when she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth in 2015.
"We have children who could've been dead in the ground, but they are in college because of a horse," she said.
Kelly knew she wanted the young women in her program to come to Fort Worth to tour the museum and Hall of Fame and see their place in history, too.
"Connecticut is not big cowgirl country, so they are an oddity in and of themselves," she said. "One, they are African American. And two, they ride horses. And three, they are cowgirls who actually study dressage. So, to make the history more well-rounded, they needed to see the beginning."
Kelly's wish to share the experience came true when staff at the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame pulled some strings to get her and five of her riders to town. It was their first stop almost as soon as they got off the plane.
"All these marvelous women were told, at some point, 'You can't, you shouldn't, and you won't,' but they did," said Kelly. "So, I think all this comes together to help them become more."
"It's truly a once in a lifetime experience," 13-year-old Sequoia Perryman said. "The whole idea of having a hall for cowgirls and being able to appreciate what people consider a male thing to do."
Sequoia started riding six years ago as a camper in the program. Now she's the 2016 Rodeo Queen and proudly wears her crown on her suede cowgirl hat. Along with dressage, she rides hunter seat and western, and proudly calls herself a cowgirl.
"Bravery, dignity and being able to do what most people are scared of doing and can't do," she said of being a cowgirl.
"You just have a bond with the horse, and you feel free when you get on," said 15-year-old Cassady Huertas, the 2016 Junior Princess, said. "I've always loved horses, always. There's not really a reason behind it. They're just beautiful and I've always wanted to ride one."
During their four-day visit, the girls toured the Cowgirl Museum, the Stockyards and ate at the famous Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Restaurant. They also went to College Station and got a personal tour of Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
"A&M is a really cool college and we might all end up coming here," Sequoia said.
The trip may become a turning point for some of the girls, proving again that you can't tame a cowgirl.
"I feel like I've gained more independence and opportunities, like coming here, meeting new people," Cassady said.
"Now, they're beginning to think new thoughts, and as we go home and they begin to debrief of everything they've seen I'm sure I'll see more changes," said Kelly.
