Hey y'all, and welcome back to the black in the saddle podcast. I know I know you're probably sitting there like, wait, I clicked on the wrong podcast this morning, but no. Or this evening whenever you're listening to this, but no, you didn't. You didn't. The podcast young black equestrians is going through a rebrand. In this episode, I am going to talk about what sparked that rebrand. And where the vision is headed. Now, what does it mean? What does blackness that'll mean? And the new things coming up for this season? Okay, so stay tuned. And we're gonna get into it. All right, welcome back. There has been so much good energy and good vibes around the rebirth of this podcast. Now, you know, Beyonce just came out with a renaissance. And that's exactly the period that I am feeling like that I'm in. So I just want to welcome you back and share a moment of gratitude for you being here continuing to listen, continuing to support continuing to engage so that I know what kind of things that you're interested in, and how we can best support this community as a podcast, right. So I took a summer hiatus off of creating episodes. My last episode of the young black equestrian podcast was episode 100, which is a huge milestone, I am so excited about that. I feel like I started this podcast when there was a huge need of more equestrian black equestrian voices in this space. And that's exactly the need that was filled. Right. So over the summer hiatus, I learned a few things, I had some time to reflect. And I felt like my energy just was a little off towards the end of the season, I really felt like I was I should have enjoyed creating the content more than I did. Right. And so I know, from my own, you know, personal development, that true alignment is a feeling that you have, right? True alignment is when it feels good to say yes, it feels good to do the work, it feels good to show up. And I just wasn't I was I was off on that. I wasn't really feeling that towards the end of last season. And wanted to be in community with some people that I just felt like I was not there yet, right. And so over the summer, I took a break, I kinda lay low and watch the lay of the land and watch where we are as an industry and really just observed how other people moved and how things came to be. And I realized that I was not competent, or content in the box that I've placed myself in. Right. And if you know me, you know, surely doesn't like to be put in boxes, okay. But sometimes, we do that to ourselves, right? We say I've created this thing, this is how it should be. And don't always have time to self reflect and say, Okay, how can this be made better? How can this be different? And so I had a couple conversations over the summer, and I was like, you know, I'm just not sure that I can continue this. I'm just not sure. And the response I got was, you know, the work that you do is bigger than you. And I completely agree with that. But I don't believe in self martyrdom. I don't believe in this sacrificial
Energy that came with some of those comments like, you're not supposed to enjoy the work that you do, even if it's bigger than you. So with young black equestrians, I started to find that there were so many more people who wanted to engage, and wanted to connect. But they felt like because of the name of the podcast, it wasn't a space for them. And as a brand strategist, you know, back when I was a baby brand strategist, I didn't quite realize the impact that that would have. And you know, why B II was named, because that's what I felt like. And that in the podcast was created in response to a lot of just lack of support from an older generation. And so I created it, because that's what I felt like, right? That's, that's what, that's how I identified. But now, it's like now that I see the impact of building this community. I mean, not now that I see it. But now that I've had the time to really reflect in and realize where alignment is not happening. I knew that there had to be a change. I knew that there had to be some sort of different approach to this work, but I didn't want to lose everything that I had done so far. You know, 100 episodes, a lot of work. And so I, over the summer was thinking, just thinking like, what, I gotta do it differently. I got to do this differently. And I just need time to figure out how now, the name black in the saddle was one of those shower thoughts. I know you have those. Okay, I know you have those, you get in the shower, and you start thinking, or you started singing horribly at the top of your lungs. And you think, Wow, that's a good idea. And sometimes it may stick with you after you get up to shower. Sometimes it doesn't always, but this is one that stuck with me. And as a writer, as an author, I have this really just keen interest in words. And in plays on words and alliteration. I mean, I'm a kids children's book author. So these that's kind of how I think sometimes little catchy phrases and alliterative phrases, but black in the south, okay, maybe one day, and I want to say this is even before the last season ended. And that's just what it was. It was just thought like, Oh, that's cute, black and unsettle, like back in the saddle. And that was it. So over the summer, what it's August now, so in cash, it was this late June, early July, early July. That goes the first weekend in July, I went to Fort Worth, I went to Fort Worth to experience the bill Pickett rodeo for the first time. And it was a great time, y'all. It was a really good time to be in a space with my people. Watching these competitors do what they are passionate about and like hitting the Dougie and the NaeNae you know, as they're switching events, like being able to sing r&b oldies at the top of my lungs with an entire Coliseum while watching black competitors on horses do the doggone thing. That was beautiful. That was amazing. That was an incredible experience. And if you have not gone before, you absolutely need to. And so I'm capturing content, I'm capturing, you know, videos and pictures and you know, just connecting with some of the vendors like it was a good time. It was a really good time. And so
all summer I said this trip is going to inspire me to get no pun intended. Get back on the saddle. With young black equestrian, I am going to feel reinvigorated. I'm going to have such a positive energy coming from this trip. I went I bought me a pair of boots while I was down there. I went shopping did the touristy things. Shout out to my friend, Kevin. He drove me around, we did non touristy things locally, local things. It was it was a really good trip. It really truly was. But then when I got back home, I still felt like I was in a box. I still felt like I was stepping, I was standing in a room full of people. And still feeling alone. Do you have that feeling? Sometimes? It's kind of hard to explain. And I know you're like Abriana Girl, you talking about a podcast? Like get it together? That's truly how I felt myself. I was like, what? Like, why are we even feeling like this? This is your podcast, you created this, get it together. But if you know just telling yourself to get something together does not always make it gotten together. You begin enough when I'm laying down. So I sat on it. And I said, What is it going to take for me to feel good about this? What is it going to take for me to feel like this is something that I really enjoyed doing. And circling back to this comment that said, you know, your work is bigger than you. Absolutely, absolutely, that I can look at the analytics and see that we are, you know, in Germany and in Iceland, and Finland, I can see that there's listeners there, I can see that people are still engaging, and listening to episode from months years ago, I can see that I can see that the Facebook group is continuing to grow. But I don't believe that you should continue to do work if you're not happy. I believe that we can do work that's bigger than ourselves and still enjoy it. And if it's if the work gets to a point where we don't enjoy it, this life is too short to continue it even if it is bigger than you I think you should enjoy what you do. Period. So young black equestrians as it what is it going to take for me to feel good about this? So I looked at, I reflect it and I look back on all the things that all the comments because I'm a overthinker so I store things in my brain that make me feel like ah, but the comments of you know, I don't fit here, but I wanted to listen anyway. I don't identify as young but I think this is really cool. I don't know if this is for me. And I realized that I was starting to channel that. Right. I was starting to have those same thoughts myself. So I say you know what? We've got to get out of this container. Why we had a mazing run I am so proud of it. That is my first baby. Okay, it's my first baby. But it's time for up leveling. It is time for a renaissance you you can break much or you can break. Black in the saddle is here to stay now. What does it mean to get black in the saddle? I will tell you after this message from our sponsor. Hey, barnyard besties.
On August 13. We are going to be celebrating the first annual cowgirl Cameron day at Farmville Public Library. In North Carolina, we are going to have so much fun, there's going to be activities for the kids, there's going to be photobooth setups, they're going to be readings with encore. But we're also raising money for school supplies to support Pitt County students as they get prepared for this school year. So we have suggestions for school supplies to donate. Or if you want to donate funds to support us, purchasing school supplies for these students, feel free to visit WWW dot cow girl cameron.com cow girl see a MRY in and we would love to be able to include you in our support for these kids as they prepare for their school year. So come join us August 13 11 to 1pm at Farmville Public Library. Can't wait to see you there. All right. So what does it mean to give Black in a saddle? Now, like I said before, it's a little wordplay on back in the saddle. And, you know, because I am just so infatuated with the words. I said, let me look this up. Let me see what Miriam says, Let me see what Urban Dictionary says. Because, you know, they always say somebody, let me see what the consensus is, I know what I think this means. But let me see if there was like an origin or, you know, some kind of source or whatever. Well, basically, there isn't, you know, it's it hails from the times where people were riding horses more frequently, obviously, back in the West. And it's, it's basically, it's a phrase that embodies perseverance. It embodies the tenacity to get up and keep going, the the opportunity to have a new vision and have some grit, and get back to what you were doing in the first place. And not always, not always what you were doing in the first place. But get back into motion. Right, the direction can change. We know that ran horses, but getting back on getting back on the horse that you are riding today is so critical. We know that from from training, you know, if you fall off as long as you are, well, and the horses safe, you get back on, you get back on and that is the true embodiment of what it means to be a horse person. And so being a black person in this industry, I felt like I have had to get back on the saddle. Over and over and over again, I'm in a couple of industries where people like me, just are not frequent, right? I don't come across a lot of black horse women in the veterinary space. I don't come across a lot of black horse women in the brand development or marketing space that I know those things. Things seem grossly unrelated. But I'm an octopus, I don't know what to tell you. So, black in the saddle to me means that this is a reminder of what it took to get started and why I am dedicated to this work. Every time I fall in falter, I will get back on this saddle and the direction may change. The energy may change the speed may change. But I got that one. I got back on. And I kept going. And I did it. I dedicated my time, my effort, my energy and my passion to getting back on. When I was in high school,
we started a trail club trail riding club that lasted a couple of years. It was called in the saddle riders. And it just made me chuckle because it's kind of an homage to them as well. It's kind of an homage to My family who put me back in the saddle, if you remember my story, I started writing when I was seven. I stopped, and then started writing again when I was in high school, and and it just had a cousin was like you want to come to a trip? I'm like, sure. Know what that is? Or you know how to ride a horse? Yeah, never without seven. If I could do seven, I can do it. But I'm just telling you like, literally, right? It was different. And have you ever been to a black trail ride? You know, it was completely different than a seven year old. Arena lesson? Yeah. So. But my very first trail ride, they were like, Oh, my God, you are a cowgirl, you did. I mean, I fell into a gorge of water didn't come off my horse, like they were screaming at me. The whole nine, you can scroll back in the episodes to hear the very dramatic retelling of that story. But my family helped me get there back in the saddle and have a renewed passion for this. They put me in this environment that was so inviting, that was so family oriented. You know, despite despite what people say, on the internet, we have a really close knit group of people that we just enjoy going to trail rides with and have a good time. And so this is a little bit of a homage to them as well, because they put me back in this album. And they also believe I felt like something else that I noticed. And if you're in the if you're in the black in the saddle community, the Facebook community, you will, you will hear me say this on yesterday's August fireside chat, but there was a there was just some moments in social media time, where I felt like because it said young black equestrians white people, specifically, there were a couple of white women felt the need to explain or berate or comment in a space that was not for them or about them about things that were completely unrelated, but their own prerogative. And I felt like they thought that this might be something that was safe for them because it was a younger, that as a young, because I know they hadn't actually listened to any of the podcast. They felt like that was something that they could get away with scot free and not have any response to. And if you know me, and if you have listened to this podcast, you also know that that I that is not reality, right? Like I firmly I'm not gonna say aggressive because, you know, they try to say black woman aggressive all the time. But I want to be perfectly clear that this space, this content, this community, is for Black Horse men and women. I don't think that is it is our responsibility to carry the torch of diversity. I've even had to explain this with cowgirl camera in my children's book series. They say oh, wow, look, a little black cow girl that's so beautiful. Then you can introduce like a Mexican cowgirl and an Asian cowgirl and XYZ cow girl. And I just found it very funny. I'm like, all of these books about little white cow girls. Not once does someone say oh, you should introduce a little black cowgirl.
People don't have those conversations with white authors. Right? And I also don't believe in in creating experiences that I'm not proud of that I don't have. And so, the only way that there would be that kind of like overcrossing or introduction is if I was joined Co Op offering something with someone else, write someone who could speak to that lived experience, because what I write is a lived experience. And so yeah, some some people had me wrapped up. Some people, some people really was confused on the the type of energy that was coming from this podcast like, right? No, no, ma'am. Do not come on this platform, my platform that I built to detract from my message. I'm not that young. I'll be turning 30 This year out. 30. So I feel young. I don't know about y'all, but but we're still growing. We're still grown. And we're adults, and the internet's are the streets. Okay. So, you know, I just felt like there was some confusion on how people should have how they should conduct themselves on this platform, if they did not identify the same way I did. So I say you know what this name change is going to be a clear, a much clearer communication effort to say, who this is for. Anybody can enjoy it. But just know that when I am thinking of things to create what I'm thinking of conversations to have when I'm thinking of people to invite it is because I want the Black Horse community to benefit specifically from the information that is being shared. That's it. So let's get into some new things coming up this season. I talked about the rebrand. But I could not do this without the help. Of my new podcast, production assistant. Param Param, param param found shot shot shot. Key more if you are following us on Instagram or Facebook, you will have seen her introduction. Key actually has a episode with me on the podcast. Her full name is Kia more so you can you can go back and listen to Kia as episode and get to know her, you know, for an hour. But he is one of those people that I felt like has been in my back pocket or like looking, looking over my shoulder and just always being so supportive. I mean, engaging with content saying hey, I Brianna that link you posted shortly I don't work. And I'm like dang, girl. Thank you. I forgot. I didn't realize Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Because sometimes tech be tech and sometimes tech does not tick. Okay. And so she has always been there as you know, this guardian angel figure supporter that I am just, I was over the moon when I saw her application come through. She also was the first person to help me when I went on my first author signing, I went to a farmers market in Durham, I was invited by my friend Sydney. And I took encore with me and I said Dang, you know, sometimes I have to talk to myself. Hey, black woman. You can't do everything. NASA. Oh yeah, you're right. So I had to ask for him. And I asked if someone would be able to come help me with the horse handling aspects. So the AQa sign books.
And her key and her sister drove an hour to Durham to help me with my author signing my first author signing, this is in 2019 2019. So when I saw her application, I was like simpatico like, this is Divine Alignment. Yes, I need her help. She has already kind of been this kind of person that I need. I need someone who is good better than me, okay? Because I have a lot going on and I am really wanting to do this in a beautiful way. So when you see her she is ki ni, k e EY in I underscore equestrian or dot equestrian I can't remember. But check out the show notes for that information. When you see her, please give her a warm welcome. I know that she is going to be incredible for this podcast and supporting the production, the distribution, the marketing, the engagement, the community. I mean, I am just so excited to bring her on board and develop a system that works for us so that we can enjoy this work that we're doing, despite it being bigger than us. Next, there will be new sponsorship opportunities rolling out what is sponsorship? sponsorship for black in the saddle looks like ad placements in episodes like you heard previously, the advertisement for cowgirl Cameron. It also looks like being a sponsor for community events, we are going to start having more frequent virtual as well as in person meetup. So being a sponsor for that looks like reaching a Facebook community of right now 400 people, but also connecting black equestrians in person for the advancement of people who look like us in this industry. So if you are interested in being a sponsor, for black in the saddle podcast, you can either shoot us an email info at black in the saddle BLK INTH s add le.com. Or you can head over to our new website, which will be that same dope domain be okay in the saddle. I will announce when that's coming up, or send us a message on social media, Facebook or Instagram. We're also there too. If you're interested in being a sponsor, definitely reach out. We're also open to collaboration opportunities. Community is how we get our message farther. Community is how we have grown to who we are today. And so any collaborations with other organizations or individuals in our community who share the same goal as us we are open to Okay. Open to so same as with the sponsorships hit us up, shoot us an email or send a message on socials. And we would love to have that conversation. Next, like I mentioned before, the Facebook group, the black in the Seattle Community. It's beautiful. Okay, last night, we had our August fireside chat. And the sheer energy, you know, I tried to set these things for an hour, we went to like an hour 45 There was so much information is so much
such a willingness to share and a willingness to connect. Everyone has a big vision, but everybody's got a lot going on. So it is up to us to come together and align our visions so that we can create something together. And that is exactly what the fireside chats allow. We didn't have a topic for last last night. It was the first one that we had since earlier in the year. And so just to see how excited people were and how connected we were, and how aligned the conversation was simply by putting people in the same room. It was dope. It was dope. And it is exactly the type of community that I want to pour in more and cultivate more. So if you are a black horseman a horse woman, and you are interested in building community and have initiatives you might be working on on your own, or wanting to advance yourself in this industry as a career or as a professional. Join the black in the saddle. Community. We would love to have you. We have Fireside Chats the first Tuesday of every month, barring there's no like holiday situation. And then we have Instagram labs. Winner's Circle Wednesday, is every Wednesday, I have been doing Winner's Circle Wednesday for almost two years. Almost every Wednesday at eight o'clock on Instagram Live. And I've missed a couple. But it's okay. It is alright now that I have me a key they are going to happen regardless, my friend, okay? They're gonna happen. Now, what is Winner's Circle Wednesday. I believe that when you show appreciation to the good things that are happening in your life, those good things continue to come around. And so it is a moment for us to pause and reflect on hump day. Step into the winner's circle and show appreciation to the good things that are happening in your life. Nothing is too small showing up to Winner's Circle Wednesday is a win. Because not everyone was able to show up today. Not everyone was able to wake up today. So Winner's Circle Wednesday, sometimes when there's like a Wednesday is pretty late. Okay. Um, so you can either hop on the Instagram Live with me to talk face to face, I am down with that. Or you can just leave your wins in the comments and share in community with everyone in the comments. The things that are are happening for you. And I just am so thankful and appreciative of everyone who shows up every week. You know, sometimes when their circle Wednesday is an hour. Sometimes it lasts for like 5080 minutes because if I share my wins and and my my watchers are like Oh, I'm Michele shear, I can't think of anything. Okay, we get a little bit of motivation to finish the week out strong and weak we go. It's all right. All right. This is not something that has to take a long time showing appreciation for the good things that are happening to you. And your life does not have to take a long time. But yeah, we spend some time in gratitude for those good things. And then we get some motivation to finish the week out strong. Yeah. Coming to Winner's Circle Wednesday, Instagram, black in the saddle at eight o'clock Eastern time, every Wednesday. That being said, there's a new website coming. There's new merch coming. That was the other thing. I'm like, I love creating merch. And people are asking, Oh, can you make this? Oh, he made this document. I was not feeling it, y'all. I just was not feeling inspired to make new merchandise. So the classic y b e merchandise will still be
available. But there are going to be some new things, some new designs, some new, some new merch that we're going to be able to enjoy together and really get back in the saddle in the street far right. Black in the pasture, black in the saddle in the pasture. So I appreciate everyone who has supported that. So far. I'm looking at my outline, and this is the last thing that I wanted to cover in this episode. This season for me is about giving back this season in my life this season in this podcast. It's about giving back to the community that has supported this so far. And the community that doesn't even know that it exists. But why wants to know, right? And so, when this podcast first started, it was really about creating community and connecting with this community. And then it turned into, you know, like, once we started growing, it was like, Oh my gosh, I did not know these people existed, I did not know these people existed, just like, dang, y'all. I know a lot of people. So let's bring all these people to existence to the forefront share their stories. And that was beautiful. That was beautiful. But it started to become just like a very individualistic sharing of information, right. And, and that was appropriate. That was the need at the time to hear people's voices to hear people's stories. And to see how they did this, and what they have going on, right. This season, I want to focus the content on community builders, and how they have found ways to give back to this community to create for this community, to connect with this community and to make an impact in these communities. I want to hear from people that have really been out there doing the work, because a lot of what I hear now is you know, people either looking for support, or people looking for someone to support. And so I want to connect, or draw the bridge between knowing and doing. There was a lot of knowing you learned about people previously in previous episodes. But now what can you do? Who can you support? How can you give back. That's what I plan on focusing on. So I'm really excited about that. And to bring you this content in this season. A couple changes that are going to be made this podcast used to be weekly. We are now going to a bi weekly, every other week. Schedule. So every other Friday, you will get a new episode. And I think that just fits for the time in my life right now and the amount of work that I have going on, but also allows me to be very intentional about the work that we're doing. It slows us down just a little bit. We I am so used to going so fast. It slows us down for just a moment. It allows time to savor the work that we're doing and to connect with people. Right. So that is new season things. Okay, that is what is going on for the podcast that you used to know as young black equestrians. But it is now black in the saddle podcast. So please, when you listen to this episode, let me know how you feel about this change. Let me know your thoughts. Let me know if this resonates with you. Let me know if you feel more connected to this.
Renew renewed vision, this renewed ability, this this new space and let me know if there's anything and in particular that you want to talk to talk about. Bring it to the group. Bring it to the community. And let's have a conversation about it. Perfectly down, bringing the winner's circle Wednesday. I'm down, down for it all. Okay. All right. As always, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast player, Apple, Google, Stitcher, Spotify, whatever, and share this with a friend that you know, needs help getting black in the set. All right. Follow us on social media on Instagram and on Facebook. And I will see you in the next episode.