A two-day gathering that celebrates, supports, and connects Black professionals in the horse industry. Join us November 6-7, 2026.
Real conversations about Black cowboy/equestrian culture. We’ll talk about our history, share our experiences, and shape the future together. Every session challenges what you think you know and centers the stories that need to be heard.
What would two days of learning be without a little fun? Our engaging programming blends skill-building with storytelling, insight with celebration. Expect to learn a lot from your peers, then get ready for LIVE music and dancing each night.
The best way to learn is to learn by doing. Whether you’re improving your riding, learning more about horse husbandry, growing a business, or building leadership skills, these sessions focus on what you can actually use.
Kinship is about connection and belonging. When we gather, we create stronger pathways for friendship, mentorship, partnerships and more. Build real relationships with people who get it. Leave knowing you’re part of something bigger.
Whether you compete, teach, or ride for joy, amateurs and professionals have a space at the table
Farriers, vets, barn managers, feed reps, and everyone who keeps this industry moving
Entrepreneurs building within the horse industry or serving horsefolks in meaningful ways.
Photographers, designers, makers, and creators holding and telling our stories
Kinship brings together voices from across the horse industry including professionals and amateurs, riders and trainers, educators, and innovators who are shaping what working with horses looks like now and what it can become next.
Our speakers reflect the expansiveness of Black horsefolk, from hands-on practitioners to business owners, amateur riders, creatives, and leaders working across disciplines.
Clinical and Occupational Social Worker
Horse Trainer
Veterinarian
Vaulting Coach / Athlete
Founder
Founder/President
Farm Owner
Facilitator
Equestrian Fitness Trainer
Founder / Ranch Manager
Actor/Producer
Horse Trainer
Leadership Consultant
Financial Advisor
Executive Director/Horse Trainer
Executive Director
Director
Executive Director
Executive Director
Photographer/Videographer
Founder/Consultant
We’ll see you on November 6-7, 2026 at Embassy Suites – GSO in Greensboro, NC.
Loading the bus and visiting 5811 Farms and NC A&T University Farm Pavilion. LUNCH IS INCLUDED
Abriana Johnson
A great halter horse is more than muscle and mass. Behind every horse that enters the arena is a thoughtful approach to nutrition, conditioning, health, genetics, and preparation. Join Erin S. Brown, “The Concrete Cowgirl” and Executive Director of the Philadelphia Urban Riding Academy, for a candid conversation about what it takes to prepare a conformation horse for the show ring and what happens beyond it. Drawing from her own experiences learning how to condition and care for her horses, Erin will explore the importance of understanding what you are feeding, following nutritional guidance, recognizing healthy weight and muscle development, and considering the many factors that can affect a horse's condition. This session will also challenge the idea that bigger is always better. From genetic testing and health considerations to seasonal conditioning and transitioning a halter horse back into a riding horse, Erin will share why horses should be built and managed for function not just appearance.
Erin Brown
Renata Bass
Najja Thompson didn’t grow up in a barns, he found his way into the horse industry through the New York Racing Association’s marketing and communications office and worked his way to Executive Director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders. Join us for a candid fireside chat on the winding path that got him here, the doors that opened when he least expected them, and what it actually takes to build a lasting career in an industry that doesn’t always make its entry points obvious.
Najja Thompson
Abriana Johnson
Participants will engage in guided reflection, storytelling, and practical insights drawn from unmounted equine facilitated learning practices. The conversation will center Black lived experience in equestrian spaces and offer tools for integrating wellness, leadership, and ethical care into daily practice both in and out of the barn. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how healing is relational, how horses participate in that process, and how centering wellness supports longevity for both horse and human.
Selina Brown
Healing doesn’t always happen sitting still, it can begin with rocking to the beat.In this interactive session, Amber will share how line dancing, horseback riding, and intentional movement became powerful tools for healing, confidence, and personal transformation. Through authentic storytelling and practical insight, attendees will discover how movement can reduce stress, build resilience, strengthen community, and reconnect them with their most authentic selves.Whether you’re navigating life’s challenges, searching for joy, or simply looking for a new way to care for your mind, body, and spirit, this session will leave you empowered to embrace healing in motion, one step, one beat, and one ride at a time.
Amber Thompson
What does it really take to become the first? What does it cost?In this candid session, the first Black Division I Head Equestrian Coach shares the journey behind breaking one of the sport's most significant barriers, from working student positions, internships, and financial obstacles to navigating collegiate politics, burnout, and the realities of leading at the highest level of collegiate equestrian.Rather than focusing on being "the first," this session explores the preparation required to stay in the room once you're there. Attendees will gain practical insights on mentorship, networking, protecting their reputation, understanding contracts, documenting their work, and building a career that can withstand setbacks. Parents, trainers, and industry leaders will also be challenged to think beyond access and intentionally develop the next generation of equestrian leaders.
Kamerra Brown
Engage in the artistic and athletic perspective of Equitation; the art of riding. What does it mean to work with horses in a way that benefits their way of being and moving? What is our responsibility as riders and stewards of the herd? How can we approach our time in the saddle as an opportunity to improve? This session is all bout the journey of empowering our horses to be resilient athletes with bold presence and advancing the art of Equitation.
avry jxn
Join a panel of nonprofit leaders for an honest conversation about the work of building organizations that create lasting change. From navigating funding and growth to building programs, partnerships, and community trust, these leaders will share the realities, challenges, and lessons that come with leading mission-driven work.
Abriana Johnson
Najja Thompson
Jamon Turner
Philesha Chandler
Great horsemanship deserves to be seen, but creating content that attracts clients takes more than posting pretty pictures.In this session, Steven will share practical ways to use social media to grow your equine business, connect with the right audience, and turn your online engagement into real opportunities. You'll learn the fundamentals of creating compelling photo and video content, telling authentic stories, and capturing the relationship between horses and people in ways that resonate.Whether you're a trainer, photographer, business owner, nonprofit, or content creator, you'll leave with actionable techniques for creating content with purpose, building credibility, and using social media as a tool for business growth.
Steven Bryan Pelzer
Stepping into the equestrian world as an adult beginner is a bold and exciting move, but not all barns are built with adult learners in mind. For Black riders, finding a space that provides physical safety, cultural respect, and a genuine fit requires an intentional, informed approach. Spending your hard-earned time, energy, and money in an environment that doesn't respect your journey can quickly dim your passion for riding.In this session, Renata Bass delivers practical tools to help you evaluate equestrian facilities before you ever sign a contract or step into a stirrup. You’ll look beyond polished arenas and fancy amenities to assess a barn’s true culture, communication style, and commitment to rider well-being.Whether you’re shopping for your very first lesson barn or preparing to leave a program that no longer serves you, Renata will equip you with the language and confidence to advocate for yourself. You’ll learn how to trust your instincts, ask direct questions, and find a training environment where you can safely and joyfully thrive.
Renata Bass
Join us for the Kinfolk Mix & Mingle, an opportunity to relax, connect, and build relationships with fellow attendees, speakers, industry professionals, and members of the broader equestrian community. Whether you're reconnecting with old friends, meeting your next collaborator, or simply enjoying the energy of being surrounded by people who understand your passion for horses and community, this is your time to gather.
Join us for a relaxed morning gathering as we check back in with one another and participate in a quick interactive activity designed to get the room engaged and energized for the day ahead.
Abriana Johnson
The horse industry has always been full of creativity, but what happens when Black professionals explore this intersection? This conversation explores the many ways artists, designers, storytellers, entrepreneurs, and creative thinkers are shaping the industry beyond the traditional roles we often associate with horses. Panelists will share how they’ve turned their creative talents into careers, businesses, and new possibilities within the horse world and what the industry stands to gain when we make space for different ways of thinking, making, and creating.
Brandon G. Alexander
Chanel Rhodes
Steven Bryan Pelzer
Amber Thompson
Jamon Turner has spent a decade turning a horse trailer and a vision into a self-sustaining youth horsemanship program without waiting on grants to make it work. In this session, he breaks down how to introduce agricultural opportunities to inner city and rural youth through the lense of horsemanship and colt development by identifying the resources already around you and turning them into a program that serves your community and pays for itself. Expect a practical, hands-on session, walking you through the same model he's used to cut overhead, fund youth wages and build a pipeline of young horsemen who now run parts of the program themselves. You'll leave with the start of your own blueprint for a program you can take home and actually build.
Jamon Turner
Samir Geiger built Be Worthy Horsemanship on a simple premise: kids don't earn the right to ride until they understand what they're asking of the horse. In this session, he breaks down the framework he uses to get first-time riders — many from New York and New Jersey communities with no horse culture at all — ready before they ever touch a saddle, and why that groundwork changes how they carry themselves in the saddle and beyond. Samir will walk through how horses actually process the world, why comfort and trust outperform fear and pressure every time, and how understanding a horse's mind builds patience, timing, and feel that carry straight into real life. Come ready to rethink what "readiness" means before a rider ever gets on.
Samir Geiger
Technologist and polo player Dale Johnson explores how emerging automation and smart care systems can meaningfully reduce the time demands of horse ownership. Balancing a corporate career with caring for his horses, Sunny and Denver, Dale shares how innovative technology can streamline daily feeding, watering, record keeping, and health monitoring.This session demonstrates how agentic systems, technologies capable of observing patterns and making informed decisions, create peace of mind, reduce burnout, and ensure high quality equine care. Designed especially for equestrians balancing urban lives with rural horse care, this visionary presentation shows how modern innovation can honor tradition, bridge geographic divides, and make horse ownership more accessible for all.
Dale Johnson
For years, Keith Roberts believed his job was to make a horse do what he needed. Now his approach starts before he ever touches the animal, checking emotions at the gate, because a horse can read what you're carrying before you even saddle up. This session is about the discipline of knowing your horse well enough to guide instead of force, and why that shift changes everything about how trust gets built.
Keith Roberts
Equip yourself with the knowledge you need today to create an empowered financial future. This 30-minute presentation explores estate planning generally. It discusses the various parties to an estate and reviews important documents you should consider while estate planning.
Dawn Edgerton-Cameron
The future of the horse industry isn't something we can leave to chance. We have to build it. This panel brings together leaders who are thinking beyond the way things have always been done to explore what a thriving, inclusive, and sustainable industry could look like. From access and representation to business models, leadership, education, and community, we’ll examine the changes happening now and the choices we can make today to shape the industry we want to leave behind.
Abriana Johnson
Jamon Turner
Letita Mason
What happens when you stop putting your dreams on hold and finally say "yes" to the calling in your heart? For many adult riders, especially those who didn't grow up with horses or see themselves represented in western culture, taking that first step into horsemanship can feel daunting, delayed, or even impossible.In this session, actor, producer, and horseman Brandon G. Alexander explores the transformative impact of committing to your own passion. After pivoting from a successful career in entertainment to step into the saddle at age 32, Brandon discovered that saying "yes" to horses wasn't just about learning to ride, it was a catalyst for personal healing, creative purpose, and unexpected doors opening.Whether you are trying to find the courage to start, looking to redefine what horsemanship means to you, or building a legacy of your own, Brandon will share how trusting the journey allows you to craft an equestrian life aligned strictly with your own desires.
Brandon G. Alexander
Carrying the legacy of Black equestrians forward requires more than passion. It takes physical strength, energy, and long term health in the saddle. In this practical interactive session, Ifa Simmonds reframes rider fitness as a tool for cultural preservation, personal empowerment, and sustainable riding.Using the core framework of the Equestrian Fitness Academy, Ifa breaks down the four essential pillars of rider movement, including stability, suppleness, strength, and stamina. Through clear unmounted exercise demonstrations, you will learn how targeted movement prevents joint pain, reduces fatigue, and sharpens body awareness. Whether you ride competitively, teach students, or trail ride for joy, this workshop delivers actionable movement tools to keep your body strong, injury free, and riding for decades to come.
Ifa Simmonds
Every horse owner wants to provide the best possible care for their equine partner, but understanding the medical side of horse management can sometimes feel overwhelming. In this practical and empowering session, Dr. Lynn Criner breaks down the fundamentals of equine health from a veterinary perspective, giving horse owners the tools and confidence they need to proactively support their horse.At the heart of great equine care is a strong Veterinary Client Patient Relationship. Dr. Criner explains how building a solid partnership with your veterinarian sets the foundation for proactive wellness, routine preventive care, and early detection of health issues. Featuring hands-on anatomical displays and practical demonstrations including fecal parasite analysis and structural bone reviews, this interactive session brings equine veterinary science directly to the horse owner.Whether you are a new horse owner or an experienced equestrian looking to sharpen your barn management skills, you will gain a clear understanding of what your veterinarian looks for, why routine maintenance matters, and how to keep your horse thriving for the long term.
Thinking about getting into competition but not sure where to start? This conversation is designed to demystify the competitive side of the horse industry. Panelists will share how they got started, how to choose the right discipline and level, what it takes to prepare, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. We’ll talk about everything from finding opportunities and building your support team to developing the mindset, skills, and horsemanship needed to excel. Whether you’re entering your first show or looking to take your competitive goals to the next level, you’ll leave with practical insight for finding your place in the arena and competing with confidence and good sportsmanship.
Abriana Johnson
Philesha Chandler
Erin Brown
Kamerra Brown
Land is far more than physical property, it is a foundation for economic sovereignty, family heritage, and generational wealth. Yet, ensuring that land remains productive, profitable, and protected across generations requires deliberate planning rather than wishful thinking.In this actionable session, Carrie Martin, Director of Agriculture and Conservation at the Black Family Land Trust and co-founder of the award-winning Footprints in the Garden farm, delivers practical strategies for transitioning from basic farm management to building a thriving, resilient business enterprise.Participants will explore how to maximize property potential sustainably while implementing crucial risk management tools. Whether you are seeking to optimize your current land use or prepare the next generation for seamless stewardship, Carrie will provide the roadmap to ensure your legacy is intentionally built, protected, and passed forward.
Carrie Martin
There’s a pathway to the top of the sport horse world, but for many aspiring athletes and their families, no one ever hands them the map. Mikhail Proctor didn’t come up through a traditional riding program. He built his path from the ground up, navigating grassroots programs, building relationships, finding opportunities, and learning how to figure things out along the way. That journey ultimately led from local programs to elite competition and a deeper understanding of how the sport actually works. In this fireside conversation, Mikhail pulls back the curtain on the sport horse pathway from local and regional competition to national and international levels. He’ll unpack the programs, resources, funding opportunities, qualification routes, and relationships that can help athletes move forward, while addressing the realities that often go unspoken. Whether you’re an aspiring athlete, parent, coach, or trainer, this session is about more than getting to the next level. It’s about learning how to build a plan, build the right team, recognize opportunities, and advocate for your place in the sport.
Mikhail Proctor
In this session, first-generation Black equestrian and founder Chanel Rhodes shares the journey behind Mane Tresses, the breakthrough brand that turned an unconventional idea into a globally recognized equestrian phenomenon. Navigating an industry where she often felt overlooked, Chanel refused to fit into standard molds. Instead, she harnessed her distinct creative vision to pioneer an entirely new market niche. Chanel will take you behind the scenes of her entrepreneurial journey, dropping real-talk insights on visibility, brand-building, and resilience. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a creative with a bold idea, or an equestrian seeking to stand out, this session will give you the confidence to disrupt the status quo, trust your instincts, and turn your unique vision into reality.
Chanel Rhodes
This training will teach about incorporating cultural humility into Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP). Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their cultural identities and how the authentic expression of those identities influence their practice. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of what EAP is, how cultural humility as a framework can be implemented in various environments, and an increased awareness of personal cultural influences on their work.
Preshuslee Willis-Thompson
We’re closing out Kinship the only way we know how... with good food, good company, and good music. Join us for Cowboys & Cocktails, our final night celebration featuring dinner, cocktails, and a live performance by Justin Rufus & the Live in the Flesh Experience. It’s an evening to dress in your best cocktail attire, celebrate the connections we’ve made, and enjoy the people who make this community what it is. Come dressed to impress, raise a glass, hit the dance floor, and celebrate the end of an unforgettable Kinship experience.
There are 3 major ways you can support the Kinship Conference
Choose from multiple sponsorship levels to offer support for the event
Be one of 15 vendors selected to support over 200 attendees
List your business or organization in the COLLECTIBLE conference program
We want getting to Kinship to be as smooth as the experience itself.
We’ve partnered with a travel concierge to help attendees coordinate lodging, transportation, and local recommendations so you can focus on arriving ready to connect.
Urban Culture Association of Black Cowboys & Cowgirls is committed to preserving, celebrating, and promoting the rich history, culture, and contributions of Black cowboys and cowgirls. Their work ensures that stories, traditions, and knowledge are carried forward for future generations.
Black In The Saddle is a community platform dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating the impact of Black equestrians within the horse industry. Through media, events, and curated experiences, we create spaces for connection, visibility, and shared growth.
We are excited to award five (5) scholarships for the Kinship Conference. We will award two (2) scholarships reserved for students and three (3) community members. Check back soon for the application.
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
Kinship is designed for:
Whether you’ve been in this industry for decades or you’re just getting started, you belong here.
Kinship will be held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Greensboro Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina.
No. This gathering is for horsefolks. That includes professionals, amateurs, enthusiasts, and emerging leaders alike. If you care about horses and the Black cowboy/equestrian community, this space was created with you in mind.
Yes. A room block has been secured at the Embassy Suites for November 5–8, 2026. The conference rate includes complimentary overnight self-parking and in-room internet access. We recommend booking early, as rooms are limited.
There will be food provided for:
There will not be a plated/group dinner on Friday. Please plan accordingly.
We’d love to connect. You can review sponsorship opportunities and submit an interest form through our website, or email us directly at kinship@blkinthesaddle.com.
All tickets include full access to the two-day Kinship Conference (Friday and Saturday), including:
Additional experiences (Friday offsite and Saturday night entertainment) depend on the ticket you select.
Please see the Ticket Policy section for full details.
All tickets include conference access. Some tickets also include:
You can choose your ticket based on how deeply you want to immerse yourself in the full Kinship weekend.
Yes. Tickets may be transferred through October 15, 2026. The new attendee must complete registration information. Transfer requests must be submitted via email.
For those of us navigating an industry that hasn’t always made room for us. We create the tables we need to sit at, we create the change we want to see. Welcome to Kinship.
