Donations To Philly Horse Club Top $300K After Netflix Film

PHILADELPHIA — “Concrete Cowboy,” the hit Netflix film released earlier this spring, has spurred thousands in donations for the north Philadelphia horse club on which it is loosely based.

A GoFundMe effort to help the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club surpassed $300,000 recently, more than tripling its original goal of $100,000 to keep afloat the club, which promotes horse riding for intercity Black youth.

Donations to the club will help pay for feeding and grooming horses, as well as medical expenses, according to the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club website. Some money will also go toward the club's efforts to raise funds for "its own permanent home," the GoFundMe states.

Ellis Ferrell created the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club in 2004, several decades after he moved to Philadelphia from Florida and took up horse riding along the city’s streets. Ferrell has taken on much of the expenses associated with running the Fletcher Street horse club on his own, according a report from Blavity, a news network geared toward Black millennials.

The "Concrete Cowboy" Netflix film, released April 2, sparked an inflow of donations. The GoFundMe total jumped from around $40,000 to well above $150,000 within five days of the film's release, according to Blavity. Those supporting the club included a mix of people familiar with the club itself and those who like the movie.

“Loved the film so much and just wanted to show support,” one person wrote, while another called the Fletcher Street program “fascinating.”

“I’m used to seeing horses and other ranches in the Midwest, but I’ll admit - I’ve never seen stables in the city,” the woman wrote.

Ferrell has long held that having equestrian skills gives young people in urban areas a unique opportunity to broaden their horizon, "teach them horsemanship, improve mental fortitude, physical stamina and develop attributes that could be applied to real-world competition," according to the club's website.

“Horse riding is not only therapeutic and instills discipline,” Ferrell said in a video, "but it enables a sense of empowerment to the disenfranchised and those living in communities of hopelessness.”

"Concrete Cowboy" stars Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin. Its description on Netflix says: "Sent to live with his estranged father for the summer, a rebellious teen finds kinship in a tight-knit Philadelphia community of Black cowboys."

The film aims to tackle ongoing issues affecting the north Philadelphia neighborhood that's home to Fletcher Street, such as gentrification, systemic racism and self-love, according to Blavity.

Ferrell said he's been contacted by a few people who were certain the film was based directly on his real-life experiences. But while people from the Fletcher Street club were highlighted in the film, "Concrete Cowboy" is based more directly on the fictional novel “Ghetto Cowboy” by Greg Neri, according to Blavity and other entertainment news outlets.

Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club has been asked by Patch about any additional plans they may have with the surge of donations.

Ferrell had concern, according to his description on GoFundMe, that a separate effort created by the Netflix filmmakers to help buy a new stable would take away from the club’s already-created fundraising efforts.

“The Club hopes that the filmmakers clear the record for the public and give credit to the iconic Fletcher Street Riding Club for the pre-existing and long-term contributions it has made to Black youth by fostering horse riding as a productive and community-building activity,” Ferrell said in the GoFundMe statement.