For generations, the popular image of the American West has largely erased Black people from the story. Hollywood westerns and history books often portray cowboys as white men riding across dusty plains. But the truth is far different. Black men and women have always been part of Western culture—and the very term “cowboy” originally described Black men skilled at the demanding work of herding cattle.
Figures like Nate Love, Bill Pickett, Boss Ikard, and Bass Reeves helped shape the mythology and reality of the American West. Yet the legacy of Black cowgirls is far less known. While some may recognize Mary Fields—better known as Stagecoach Mary—many others, such as Nellie Brown, Barbara Inez “Tad” Lucas, Ola Watson, and Rose Smith, also carved out spaces for Black women in Western culture.
And, of course, there’s Mollie Taylor Stevenson Jr., founder of the American Cowboy Museum (located at the historic Taylor-Stevenson Ranch) and Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee.
Today, that legacy continues in modern trail riding culture, particularly across Texas and Louisiana. In and around Houston, Black trail rides—often connected to zydeco music, rodeo season, and long-standing riding clubs—have become vibrant cultural traditions. And more Black women are stepping into those spaces, building community, sisterhood, and joy.
For trail riders like Nicole Cook and Della Holden, the experience is about much more than horses.
Finding the trail
Cook, a member of the Untouchable Riderz, first encountered trail riding after moving to Houston from Cleveland, Ohio, nearly 17 years ago.
Her introduction came through family—though at first she was more confused than excited.
“My mom moved here first,” Cook recalled. “When I got down here, she told me she was part of the Outlaws. I literally thought she had lost her mind. I’m like, ‘She joined a gang, and they ride horses.’”
But curiosity eventually pulled her in.
Cook attended her first trail ride shortly before the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo trail ride, a seven-day journey where riders travel together toward the annual event. At the time, she didn’t even have a horse.
“I was just kind of riding my mom’s coattails,” she said.
Still, the experience left a deep impression.
“What I really liked about it was the family feel,” Cook said. “I had a toddler, and I could take him with me. You could go from campsite to campsite, meeting people. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before.”
Holden, founder of the Socialites Riding Network, discovered trail-ride culture from an unexpected path—through music and community activism.
She said she first encountered the culture after receiving recognition at the Zydeco, Blues, and Trail Ride Awards for her work serving youth and community programs in Houston.
“I saw all these people dancing and having a good time, and everybody was matching,” Holden said. “This was my first time seeing the Zydeco, trail ride, and blues culture all in one spot.”
Already familiar with zydeco from growing up in Crosby, Texas, Holden soon blended her music career with the trail-riding scene.
“I started doing shows,” she said. “I even have a song with Baldenna tha King, who’s big in the trail ride community.”
Sisterhood on the saddle
Beyond the music, horses, and parties, Holden says the strongest part of the culture is the sense of connection, especially among women.
“Being a part of the trail ride community definitely brings sisterhood. When I joined, they welcomed me with open arms.
Della Holden
There’s no judgment.”
“Being a part of the trail ride community definitely brings sisterhood,” she said. “When I joined, they welcomed me with open arms. There’s no judgment. They really want to get to know you and become a sister.”
That spirit of support helped guide Holden deeper into the culture, especially through mentorship from Cook, whom she considers one of the people who helped teach her the ins and outs of trail riding.
Breaking stereotypes
For outsiders, trail riding often comes with stereotypes—assumptions that it’s only for rural cowboys or country folks. But Cook says the community is far more diverse.
“People think it’s just country people,” she said. “But there are teachers, principals, professors, doctors, and pastors who come out and just enjoy the culture and lifestyle.”
Cook herself had never grown up around horses before moving to Texas.
“In Cleveland, I only knew one Black man who had a horse, and he was the pastor of my church,” she said. “So seeing all these Black men on horses with cowboy boots and hats—it was amazing to me.”
Even her mother’s involvement surprised people.
“All that was totally not her style,” Cook said. “But it’s something about the community that makes everybody feel welcome.”
Riding together
Trail rides also evolve through groups and clubs, often forming like extended families.
Cook and her husband, Ronnie Cook—known locally as Cowboy Ronnie—eventually started their own riding club, the Untouchable Riderz, around 2018.
“At one time, we had about 200 members,” Cook said. “But the trail ride community can be tribal. People start their own groups, do their own thing. But it’s still like family.”
Holden followed a similar path when she launched the Socialites Riding Network.
“I saw all these groups and said, ‘I can start my own group too,’” she said.
But Holden didn’t want to simply perform music in the culture without truly living it.
“I didn’t want to be a gimmick,” she said. “So that urged me to go ahead and buy me a horse.”
Her first horse—Julius (Big Ju)—came from fellow trail rider and artist Baldenna tha King.
“He was such a wonderful horse,” she said. “But he did go on to horse heaven.”
Holden later trained additional horses with help from Cowboy Ronnie at the Untouchable Riderz barn.
“It was definitely a deep dive into how the real cowboys get down in Houston,” she said.
More than a ride
For both women, trail riding is about far more than the spectacle often seen during rodeo season.
Cook says one of the greatest benefits is the sense of care that riders show one another.
“My husband always says, ‘No cowboy, no cowgirl left behind,’” she said. “If you’re stuck on the side of the freeway, they’re going to stop and help you. These are total strangers who will feed your children if they’re hungry.”
The environment also offers a rare sense of freedom.
“You can let your hair down,” Cook said. “It’s not uptight. I know a pastor who comes every year, and nobody even knows he’s a pastor. He just comes and enjoys himself.”
Holden agrees, emphasizing that unity sits at the center of the culture.
“Trail riding is about family, unity, and community,” she said. “People hear negative things sometimes, but that’s not what we’re about.”
Memories on the trail
Ask either woman about their favorite moments, and the memories seem endless.
For Cook, one stands above the rest.
“When I first started with the Outlaws, they had this horse-drawn wagon,” she said. “I got to be the mule-skinner driving it. It sits way up high.”
The experience felt surreal, especially when people back home heard about it.
“My people were like, ‘What are you down there doing?’” she laughed. “But that was one of my best memories.”
Holden finds it harder to pick just one.
“Just the sisterhood and the community,” she said. “There’s too many moments to choose.”
Together, those moments are helping keep a long Black cowboy and cowgirl tradition alive—one trail ride at a time.
