Prairie View Trail Ride group keeping the legacy alive
200 people saddle up to showcase black cowboys on 83-mile trek
Myrtis Dightman Jr. grew up in the shadow of a famous bull rider.
His dad and namesake became the first black cowboy to compete in the National Rodeo Finals in 1964, later being called the “Jackie Robinson of Professional Rodeo” and having a bronze statue dedicated in his honor in Crockett in 2011. Myrtis Dightman Sr. also championed another important role: creating and leading the Prairie View Trail Riders in 1957 with his best friend,
James Francies Jr., to help showcase black cowboys.
Dightman Jr., now 64, has taken the reins as the trail boss for the 200 Prairie View Trail Riders, one of a dozen groups that made the trek to Memorial Park on Friday to help kick off the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which runs from Tuesday until March 22.
“We have to keep that history, the legacy alive,” he said.
The rodeo tradition started in 1952 with four men from Brenham and has grown to include more than
2,000 riders who travel more than 1,300 miles.
‘All a family’
Francies noticed early on that there weren’t any black riders in the original group, the Salt Grass Trail Riders. He and Dightman Sr. came up with the idea of creating the riding group, naming it after Francies’ hometown of Prairie View.
Even decades later, Dightman Jr. said, people still seem surprised to see black cowboys.
“It’s just the black cowboys is a hidden thing, but there’s been black cowboys all our life,” he said.
The group has also transformed since the original 10 riders set out for the first time. This year, 200 riders started out in Hempstead, traveling 83 miles to Memorial Park.
Pootie Lynn, who was raised near Huntsville, grew up on the trail ride, completing her first one when she was 3. Her father and uncle have been riding since the 1970s.
When she was growing up, she remembers riders sleeping in trucks or piling into one vehicle. When it got too cold, she would sometimes grab a hotel room with her mom and aunt.
Now, the 30-year-old said, everyone has a camper, RV or trailer to sleep in. People have cellphones and social media, allowing those who can’t participate to feel like they’re on the ride. Lynn also has her 3-year-old son with her now.
“It’s like we (are) all a family. We may not be a family, but we’re a family,” she said. “Everybody helps everybody. A wagon break down, we all help.”
On Friday, people stopped their cars in the middle of Memorial Drive to get out and wave as members from the trail ride trotted by to head to the campgrounds at Memorial Park.
The Texas Independence Trail riders strode by on horses, while some rode inside wagons, wearing red button-down shirts, as country music wafted from the speakers.
As runners at Memorial Park basked in the cloudless, blue sky, they stopped to wave at the lug of people on horses and wagons.
Toni Gomez, 32, said that her mom grew up taking her to the trail ride and that she wants to continue the tradition for her 2-yearold daughter, Mila.
“Last year, she was a little too small still, but she loved the horses,” Gomez said. “Ever since last year, she’s been into horses.”
Kelly Kelly, 40, who’s originally from Florida, didn’t know much about the trail ride before she started taking her kids.
“It’s a neat tradition that’s so charming to Texas,” Kelly said. “It’s fun that my kids get to see it and enjoy it. It’s so unique to Houston.”
A few hiccups
Riders with the Prairie View Trail group come from all over — Louisiana, Mississippi, California, Virginia and Washington, D.C. — to participate.
The trail ride is almost like a family reunion, with members seeing some of their friends only during the rodeo.
On this ride, they had a dominoes and horseshoe-throwing tournament. The food also frequently comes up in conversation. There’s been roasted pig and raccoon, along with barbecue, beef stew and fried chicken.
“I tell people it takes me two weeks to get the smoke out of my nose,” Dightman Jr. said.
There’s been some hiccups on way: two wagons broke down, forcing some unplanned stops and a longer ride Thursday.
But, Dightman Jr. said, mishaps just come with the territory.
His grandson, 13-year-old Malik Dightman, who’s been part of the trail ride since he was 2, remembers feeling nervous the first time he rode a horse.
Now, he said, it’s fun, and he enjoys spending time with friends.
As far as the legacy of the Dightmans on the trail ride, the teen said, “We gotta keep it going.”