Cowboy Logic reported today on a Philadelphia Inquirer article on black horsemen. From the article:
For a 10-year-old boy, spending a weekend in the company of men – expert horse trainers – working side-by-side, listening to their conversations, and sharing their equine victories can leave a lasting memory.
Lee E. Downing experienced that weekend treat in 1959 with his father, Thomas Downing, a dedicated horse trainer, and his father’s friends, African American men who held similar jobs in the American Saddlebred show-horse business.
In A Forgotten Horseman: A Son’s Weekend Memoir ($26, hardcover), Downing, who lives in North Wales, pays tribute to his father and other black horse trainers who, over months of rehearsing and grooming, prepared the horses for show competition.
It’s a fascinating story, and if you’re looking for a great late-summer read, this memoir would be a rewarding choice.
[...] Black horsemen get their due in son’s tribute [...]