USHJA On Course Episode 22

USHJA: Welcome to episode 22 of USHJA On Course. I'm Terisé, and today I'm joined by Shaq Blake, the author behind The Black Equestrian.

But first, here are your Association updates. Applications are now open for you to expand your education in 2023 with the MZ Farms/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program. Ten regional training sessions will be held this year with top clinicians around the country.

Visit ushja.org/eap to learn more and apply before April 1st. Also, be sure to check out and apply for your Zone’s EAP Grant to assist with attending a Regional Training Session near you.

The USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge and Adult Horsemanship Quiz Challenge are also open for you to test your knowledge. Visit ushja.org/hqc to prepare with the practice quiz and free study guide. Then take two online quizzes to try for a spot at Nationals.

As the show season continues to get underway, be sure to enroll and apply for all your favorite USHJA programs. Simply sign into your USHJA Member Account, select the blue My Programs button, and click the Enroll button next to the program you wish to join.

Finally, if you missed it, visit ushja.org/DEIresources to re-watch our webinar, A Discussion on the Past, Present, and Future of Our Sport in honor of Black History Month. You can also find additional diversity and inclusion resources.

Now to introduce our guest. Shaq Blake is the author and writer behind The Black Equestrian, a blog chronicling her riding journey as an equestrian of color. Fueled by the Black Lives Matter movement, her writings on diversity in the equine industry have been featured in Elle, Noel Floyd, and Heels Down Magazine. Her passion for increasing accessibility to horses for all riders led to her involvement with the Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship. Which provides opportunities for youth from marginalized communities to become involved in horse sports through financial awards and mentorship.

Recently, Shaq released her debut book as part of the American Horse Tales series. Her story, titled Northwind Acres, follows the struggles and successes of a young black equestrian riding in Detroit. Join us as we discuss how she and her writing are impacting riders and the sport.

USHJA: Hello!

Shaq Blake: Hi! How are you?

USHJA: Good. How are you?

Shaq Blake: I'm good.

USHJA: Well, jump right in. Start me off with how you first got introduced to horses and then got started riding.

Shaq Blake: So I'm originally from Barbados and in Barbados, my dad is a huge racing enthusiast. And a lot of English riders train in Barbados—it's almost like Wellington for them sometimes. So he would take me to the racetrack I guess when I was like—I don't have really a lot of memory of it, but I was little—that was like our Saturday thing.

And then when we moved to the States, my mom and I, I had a friend in kindergarten, she started riding horses, and so I obviously begged to ride horses, too. I did for a couple months, but it wasn't really sustainable location-wise, time-wise, finances. My mom was a single mom, she had my brother and I, so I stopped. And then for my 26th or 25th birthday I had gone on a trail ride and then that was pretty much the end of that. Before I left the barnyard, I had like signed up for a lesson package. That was a fantastic kind of re-intro to it.

USHJA: How did that then develop into, you know, you started your blog, The Black Equestrian. Take me through that timeline of deciding to start blogging and the beginning of it.

Shaq Blake: I remember when I had, like, first started riding, and I had no idea about anything. So, some of the girls at the barn had told me about this store called SmartPak, and I'm like, okay. You know, I knew of Dover, but I didn't know about SmartPak. So, I went to SmartPak, and I'm like, trying to buy a helmet, figure things out, and I'm like, this doesn't fit over my hair, or like, what do I do?

And I'm like, okay, are there other Black girls that are riding that are having these struggles? And then I remember, it was like, five in the morning, I was getting ready for work, I think, and I was like, it would be really cool to have a guide of how do you get started because I don't know what I'm doing, and sometimes I get really shy about asking questions, I don't want to seem uneducated, you know, not knowledgeable about something. Ao I was like it would be cool where people can ask all their questions, judgment-free zone.

And I was like, I wonder if that tag is still available on Instagram. And I typed it in to create a new Instagram as The Black Equestrian. And I'm like, you're going to have to put like seven numbers after this. And it let me have it. And I was like, there's no way that that was available.

And I didn't actually post on that Instagram—I think when I created it, I didn't post on it for like almost a year, but I was like, so shocked that the name had been available that I created it, kept it, and I was like, you know, I'll do that. And then as I started getting into riding more and I realized like, oh, we're just scratching the surface of all that is the equine world. I was like, okay, I'm going to like start from the beginning. And I had been looking at buying my first horse at that point. And I was like, you know what, I can just kind of chronicle how I did things, my mistakes, my successes, whatever. And it can kind of be like that best friend that you turn to for advice on whatever, mine would just be like, I don't know anything about horses, but I kind of want to try it, what do I do, where do I start?

USHJA: And once you got started, what was the audience's response?

Shaq Blake: My following was pretty small before 2020 and it was just like a handful of people. I would get some riders of color, you know, they would reach out and I got introduced into this community.

And then in 2020, I wrote my first blog post and it was about the Black Lives Matter movement. And I kind of talked about my own experiences as a person of color living in the urban city in Boston, and then also trying to get into the horse world and that article that I wrote on my page is kind of sort of what got attention. And from there, people just started reading and reaching out and asking questions. And that was really what propelled me to keep talking.

And to be super transparent, I remember when I wrote that article, it was a super vulnerable thing because I had talked about some personal experiences with law enforcement and my family and it was one of those things, like, my mom didn't even know the story that I put in that blog article at that point about my little brother. He had only told me, but she didn't even know about it. She literally found out about him getting yanked out of the car and having guns on him because he was driving my Subaru. And that was my very first car, and I had I was so proud of myself for getting that car. And one of the cops had said, there's no way that this is your car, you know? And she had never heard that story, and it was one of those things where I was like, you know what, I feel really strongly about this, and I'm just going to put it all out there. It's not to get a reaction, but it's to add my voice and my story in support. And that just ended up kind of resonating with people and it kind of made them curious to say, you know, from pictures you're in riding gear and you're next to a horse and that presents one very specific image. But then to see my experience as a person of color, I'm still experiencing a lot of other things on the back end, even though this one snapshot looks like this. And I think that that was an interesting juxtaposition of presence and experience and it just resonated with a lot of people.

USHJA: So what do you think they came away from reading those first few articles that you put out about your experiences?

Shaq Blake: I think that it got their wheels turning to say like, you know, the person that you're friends with at the barn, you say hi to, you guys may ride— especially adult ammies, you know—you may cross paths at night after work riding, but how much about that person, do you know, you know what I mean?

And the person whose horse is next to your horse, do you really know them? Have you taken the time out to get to know them? Do you know what people are dealing with and bringing with them when they come to the barn or when they leave? That was something I talked about in the article: pulling up to the barn every day and putting on a smile. No one would know that that had just happened, but it's one of those things that I don't want to, nor can I bring it here to interfere with what I'm doing at the barn. I think it just was like an eye opener to say like, this is happening to everyone from every walks of life. Regardless of class, status, accessibility, like these injustices are happening around us and not just to the people that we think or have been taught that they happen to.

One of the things that people pointed out when I had first posted was I work in corporate America and for my age, a first generation immigrant, they see me and they see, you know, you're so successful, you're in a different category, these things don't happen. But at the root cause of it, I'm still me, so these things do happen. And I think the takeaway honestly was that things are a lot deeper than they appear, and especially in the equine world, there's so much happening all the time, and it's very easy for us to keep our heads down and try to just focus on what we're trying to achieve, but I think it made a lot of people wonder what's really going on with the people that they know, the people that they've interacted with. You know, what's their life like, what are their experiences like? Even at my barn when that came out my trainer was like what in the heck, what happened? And I'm like that is a real story. Ahe's like I had no clue and I'm like yeah and I rode with you that same day. That same day I had a lesson. And she's like wow are you okay? And that really deepened our relationship.

We formed a really nice friendship too because she looked at me and didn't see what she thought she knew. She saw more of me. It was actually a really beautiful moment and a really nice thing. And I think the connections that I've made because of the authenticity and being willing to be vulnerable, I've made some really, really close, sincere connections.

USHJA: You also had a few opportunities come from that, right? You had an article in Elle. You were in Noel Floyd. So what was it like to then have a larger platform to speak about your experience and say these things that you were hoping people would hear?

Shaq Blake: It was scary. When I remember when Elle had reached out to me, the reporter for Elle, I literally thought it was a scam and I was like, there's no way. And then we got on a call and I was like, wait, this is like actual Elle. The Hearst building. Like Elle Magazine, you know, what I used to cut out to make my scrapbooks. Elle. It was scary, but it was also, it was exciting.

And it was one of those things that like, as fun and exciting as it was, it came with a lot of responsibility. And I think this was pressure that I put on myself to remain authentic and vulnerable, even on such a bigger stage. Imposter syndrome is a real thing, and I had my moments, too, where I would kind of take a pause and wonder, like, is anything that I'm saying even deserving of this? You know what I mean? Like this seems like too much. But I realized that as I was connecting with people and talking, there were people who wanted to hear what I had to say, and there were people who didn't get a chance to voice their stories, and I had an opportunity. And because I had that opportunity, I had an obligation to tell my stories, because if I had a chance to bring awareness to something, I needed to take that chance. So it was a lot of fun. It was definitely very, very scary, very nerve wracking, but I wouldn't change any of it, nor would I wish that I did anything differently because one thing I'm very proud of is that I was my most transparent self in that and I'm really proud of that because it's not necessarily easy things to talk about, but it's out there. And if even one person were to read that and go, wow, I feel seen or I feel understood, then I feel absolutely accomplished in being able to talk about that.

USHJA: So you also recently just wrote a book. How did the book come to be and where did the story for that come from?

Shaq Blake: I think back when I was in like high school, actually, it's funny, my English teacher made me promise that I would write a book at some point.

That was always what I wanted to do, but being a writer, it takes a while to get yourself into a point where it's actually sustainable and even harder if you want to get into horses. So I kind of went the tech route, corporate America, but I've always written and it's funny when I started my blog, that was kind of my way to keep myself writing because that's one of the most cathartic things for me is to write and create.

And my blog was a lot of that was me being able to write and, you know, tell my stories. And when I got the offer to do the book, first thing I said was, listen, I'm not a writer. Like, I'm a writer for me, but like, I'm not a professional writer. I can maybe tell you a story and you're going to have to rearrange it 90 times. I don't know, but you know, I'm willing to try. And we got kind of got through the whole process of that and it got approved by Penguin Random. It honestly, like, felt surreal. Like, I think back on it now sometimes, and it doesn't even feel real.

And that story, I wanted to tell my story, but also the story of the people around me. Like, the characters in the book are very diverse in race, class, sexual orientation, gender. Like, they're all very, very diverse. And all of them have a touch of some of the people who are closest to me and some of the things that I've seen them experience based on who they are. Like the horse on the cover of the book is Bear, my first horse. The girl on the cover of the book, Deja, that's literally my two nieces that we created that character to look like.

It was a way to tell stories that I feel like people wouldn't necessarily know unless you were exposed to a diverse group of people in a very intimate way. So the story of Deja, a lot of it is her start in things is, is very similar to mine in terms of like being able to afford the time, the access, you know. But then a lot of it too, there's also the way in which I wish it could have maybe gone for me and that I had the opportunity to sustain it. So there is some fiction there, but there's also a lot of my own experiences and feelings and thoughts that are intertwined with that.

Like there's one scene in the book where one of the riders is trying to get her helmet over her braids and one of the other kids who rides, he's mixed race, and he's like trying to tell her well just pull it down and she's like, well you have silky curls, you don't understand how bulky this can be, you know. And it was a teaching moment too, where he was like, wow, I never thought of that, interesting. And it was a way to like, kind of put some of those thoughts out there for people to mull over and think about to say like, I've never had to think about getting a helmet three sizes too big. You know what I mean? Felt like because it was a kid's book too, it gave me the opportunity to talk about some, some heavy topics and some very real relatable topics, but in a way that felt comfortable and nonjudgmental.

USHJA: It's geared towards middle schoolers. What do you hope that the readers are taking away from it? That's such an influential time in school, in life, in riding. What do you hope they're taking from your story?

Shaq Blake: Mainly the idea of having a safe space to ask questions, to discuss things that they necessarily may not be exposed to. That was the age where I kind of fell in love with reading myself. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul was really, really big for me and that age group and I remember how much topics that maybe my friends and I had talked about but I hadn't personally experienced that I learned from those books. And I think as we get older, there's a lot of inhibitions placed on us. Even me, I'm shy. Sometimes I don't want to ask a question for fear of sounding stupid. Kids are a lot more uninhibited than we are. And I think that being able to give them the information to discuss things that will affect them as they continue to grow in a way that they can all learn and everyone feels included and heard and seen is really important.

And I think that that was really my main goal with that, was to really be able to talk about topics that aren't necessarily an everyday thing, but that everybody will experience at some point, but being able to talk about it in a positive preparatory way versus in a reactive way after something has happened.

USHJA: So anybody listening who wants to read the book, where can they find it?

Shaq Blake: It's called Northwind Acres. It is on Amazon, Target. It is also in stores at Barnes & Noble.

USHJA: That's incredible. We've talked a lot about diversity. So from your perspective, what do you personally think is the biggest barrier to our sport becoming more diverse?

Shaq Blake: I think a lot of it is accessibility. And anyone who's into horses right now knows the price of things are just going up and that's just kind of sort of a world thing. But I think a lot of the limitations for me even as a kid was being from the city, there was one barn that was within an hour distance that had space for lesson programs at that time. And now it's, you know, it's a lot better. There are more barns, but even for me, I still live in Boston and my barn is in Rhode Island. It's an hour away because it's so hard to find a comfortable environment, a place where your horses can be comfortable and taken care of and happy. And the accessibility is really hard.

A lot of people also too, don't know where to get started. And I think that's the other thing. If you're not born into a horsey family, it's this obscure, completely foreign idea. And it's like, where do you even get started? So I think the accessibility and the knowledge is a huge thing. I even have friends who were like, what do you mean you ride horses? Like, what does that even mean? How did you even do that? And I'm like, the fact that some people don't even realize that it's a thing. Right now I feel like a lot of people think it's an elitist sport and bringing it down to say anybody can ride, you know what I mean? Anybody can ride. If you love a horse, anybody can do this. But I think the accessibility of making it a more normal, if you will, topic is a huge thing.

There's a ginormous class divide, and there are certain things that just will be that way, but I think that programs, you know, for inner city kids to help with funding, even help with transportation, to help with getting them there and involved is a huge first step.

USHJA: 2020 was kind of a big turning point for a lot of people. The Black Lives Matter movement was pivotal. How have you seen the sport change for the better in the years since then?

Shaq Blake: I think there's definitely been a lot more spotlight on riders of color and promoting upcoming riders of color. And I think too the community has grown. Riders of color that I've seen are a lot more at the forefront. They're telling their stories, they're making space for themselves. And in a lot of spaces, they're being welcomed. And I think that seeing even now, like how many of the young riders are riders of color, it's a more diverse group, and we can really see the efforts we've been putting in to talk about diversity and inclusion, it's coming up in the next generation of riders.

Also, too, a lot of, companies, retail companies, have made it a point to sponsor and get behind riders who may not have the funds to do it, but definitely have the talent or don't have the setup to be able to work towards what they want to work towards. There's been a lot more reach and involvement from corporations to be able to support, sponsor, and encourage the next gen of riders. And I think that that's the most pleasing thing to see.

People are buying in to the idea of we do have a problem here. We are a little more closed off and the idea that opening up the equine world to everyone is not going to harm us. It's going to introduce new talent, new layers of practices, you know, new rules and disciplines. It's only going to, you know, help us progress. I feel like there is always this idea in the sphere of change, but I always say like comfort is where progress goes to die. We can't be innovative. We can't move forward. We can't be a catalyst for change without welcoming change. And I think I, you know, seeing a lot of companies and even top riders put their money and their time and their effort and their actual energy into you these causes, it's showing.

USHJA: What advice would you give to other equestrians of color who are either, you know, they're not riders yet they want to be and they love horses so much and maybe they're not seeing themselves everywhere in the sport. What advice would you maybe give to those that are listening?

Shaq Blake: I would say the biggest thing is I would find a mentor, find someone that you are comfortable with and that you feel like you can trust to ask questions. See where you want to be in this sport, explore everything that the sport has to offer. There are so many different disciplines. You know, there are disciplines that people look at and go, well, that's what I'm going to do, but try a little bit of everything and see what you really like. But I think that making those connections to find people that you can talk to, that you can go to for guidance, that you can get help from, so you can then in turn offer help to someone else who's looking is really, really important.

And I think a lot of the connections that I've made, even like on the heels of my article, that's how the OYES scholarship got started just based on those connections. I think that that's ideal.

USHJA: You gave me a perfect segue into the OYES scholarship. It's the Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship. For those that are listening and don't know, what is it and what's your involvement?

Shaq Blake: So it is a scholarship for riders aged from 17 to 27 from marginalized communities. So anyone facing financial struggles, riders of color, LGBTQ+, anyone from a marginalized community who needs some sort of assistance with riding. There is an application process where you write an essay, you give us a budget, and we go through it all. We read it and we allocate funds to people in different categories based on need and stuff like that.

And that literally was born out of Heels Down Magazine. They did a diversity panel on YouTube and they asked me to be on it along with a couple other riders. Abriana Johnson was on it. Mavis Spencer was on it. There were a couple other riders on it. And one of the ladies who watched it, Mandy Collier, she actually reached out to me after and said, you know, you said something in that panel that stuck with me. I had this idea. What do you think? Brought the idea to me? And I said, that sounds awesome. And she said, okay, would you want to work on it together? And I said, absolutely. And from there we brought in Jacqueline Ely. And the three of us have been working on it since then.

And it's been really, really cool to see how many people we've touched. And the spaces that OYES has found itself in because it literally was just born from an idea and it was literally just born from a conversation and somebody going, wow, what can I do? You know, even if it's not a lot, what can I do? And our scholarship started at $600 and now it's up to a $1,000. So it's just growing, but it's one of those things of offering support where we can and the idea of being able to make change even on a smaller scale and that being the catalyst for a larger scale change.

USHJA: And you've had a few recipients at this point. So what have you seen the impact be on those recipients?

Shaq Blake: I think the biggest impact I've seen too is not even necessarily the funds of the scholarship itself. It's been more of the mentorship aspect. Because each applicant gets the opportunity to decide if they want to mentor or not. And the mentors we've been able to partner with are really cool. There are people from all areas of the equine world. There are vets, trainers, riders, there are farriers, there are so many people that are mentors.

And some of our applicants have gone on to do incredible things. They’ve gotten to do training with trainers they may not have been able to reach out to or afford. We've had a couple that have started businesses. We’ve had some that have even moved cross country to be able to set up their own establishment and get started. And I think that networking aspect of it has been the biggest impact. The funds of course have helped. And most people will use them for lessons or upkeep or transportation for shows or to be able to like do IEA or IHSA for a season, but the mentorship aspect and that partnership has been really, really cool to watch how many people we've been able to connect and then be able to further grow their own interests or businesses through those relationships.

USHJA: We've talked a lot today about how you're making an impact with people in a lot of different ways, but overall for you, how does it feel to be a part of the change?

Shaq Blake: It's one of the most rewarding feelings ever. OYES has been something that even looking back on it and the inception of it, it's been something that I'm so proud and so honored to be a part of because it's really supports that idea of, I don't have to have the deepest pockets or know the most people, but being really, really passionate about the cause and wanting change is often enough to get what we need to get things going.

A friend of mine and I, we started a nonprofit called X City. And that was something that we realized like, my own experience getting me to and from a barn was not realistic for a single mom of two and even looking at taking models of like transportation to say, okay, what if we took kids who are interested in this, how can we help their parents get them to and from there and take that burden completely off of them?

And that's something that we're working on to launch in the spring of next year, because she's a teacher in inner city schools. And she goes, you know, a lot of these kids would benefit from equine enrichment. And she always says, too, she remembers the exact moment that horses saved her life. And it would pain me to be able to have any kid miss out on an opportunity like that, because they couldn't get there or they couldn't afford it.

And I think that like being a part of these things. I know younger me how much some of these things would have made a difference in me being able to be more involved in the equine world rather than having to wait until I was old enough to sustain it myself. I see people who have had horses in their life their entire life and I see the enrichment they've gotten from it and even as an adult now someone with mental health struggles and anxiety. And I can even see what, you know, being even at a barn does for me that I see there's change can be created in any, any arena. It's just being passionate enough about it and being focused enough on your area to go after it. And it's just really, really, really rewarding and humbling feeling.

USHJA: So the last little bit of our interview here, we call it the Victory Gallop.

Bay, gray, or chestnut?

Shaq Blake: Ooh, I have a problem. I love bays, but I love a good dappled gray. Oh my goodness. But I have three bays. So bays.

USHJA: Would you rather jump the long approach oxer or take the trot jump?

Shaq Blake: Long approach oxer. I cannot see a distance from a trot to save my life. Nope.

USHJA: If you got to live a day in the life of any rider, who would it be?

Shaq Blake: Ooh, Beezie Madden.

USHJA: What is the last show or movie you watched?

Shaq Blake: Modern Family. I've started been watching it again.

USHJA: What are two things you can't get through a day at the barn without?

Shaq Blake: Coffee, for sure. And hand warmers. I just run cold, and I would rather be able to unlayer and get warm, and like, you know, cool off than to be cold. I can't stand being cold.

USHJA: What horse would you love to ride?

Shaq Blake: Ooh, Calliou.

USHJA: What is the most used app on your phone?

Shaq Blake: Ooh, probably Instagram.

USHJA: And finally, describe your dream horse in three words.

Shaq Blake: Oh, okay. Irish sport horse; 17.3; and just super sensible, quiet, cuddly, gelding. Big sweet gelding, that's literally it.

USHJA: Preferably a dapple gray.

Shaq Blake: Oh yeah, yeah.

USHJA: Well, that's all I have. Thank you so much.

Shaq Blake: Oh my god, yeah, this was awesome.

USHJA: Thanks for joining me for another episode of USHJA On Course. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any episodes, and follow us on social to stay up to date with all things USHJA.