Ayana Young  Hello and welcome to For The Wild Podcast. I'm Ayana Young. Today we are speaking with Keiara Wade.

Keiara Wade  With being around the horses, they constantly remind us of how to bring ourselves back into peace and by standing to peace, we're able to put that energy into the world. They're just as important to us as we are to them and we're very aware of what they bring for us in a deeper way. But again, that's where it comes into staying connected within ourselves to understand that your horse is communicating to you. Horses daily remind us of that because we have to communicate with each other and it allows us to dig deeper within ourselves.

Ayana Young  Keiara Wade is The Compton Cowgirl of the Compton Cowboys. She is in the process of pursuing her barrel racing career and becoming the first black woman to make it to the NFR. Horses have always been her positive outlet to the traumatic world in which she grew up. She believes in giving back to ounger generations by allowing them the experience of the equine world and possibly leading them away from the streets and gang violence. She recently moved to Houston to accomplish her dream, supported by the Compton Cowboys and the Compton Junior Equestrians program. She is a mother of two children, Taylor and Michael.

Ayana Young  Keiara, thank you so much for joining us today on the podcast. Really looking forward to having some time with you. And yeah, just journeying through a conversation together

Keiara Wade  Well, thank you for having me. I have been looking forward to having a conversation with you for some time now. So the day is here.

Ayana Young  Yay. Happy to be here today. And yeah, it's a summery day with a little breeze up here, which is nice. And yeah. Okay, goodness. So, where to begin? Well, I think it would be amazing if you could give us some background on how the Compton Cowboys were founded, and then the various roles the organization has played throughout the past few years.

Keiara Wade  Okay, so the Compton Cowboys was founded in 2017, doing different things in our inner city. And we were able to establish the Comptom Cowboys in 2017. And with that, we really took our experience from the Comptom Junior Posse and turned it into a way that would help us but also to help us get back to the community. So that is the whole brand of what we do. So our slogan is  "Streets Raised Us, Horses Saved Us." And that comes from us growing up in Compton. And we formed the Compton Cowboys in order to give back to the community and starting with our youth and be able to bring horses and humans together. We're giving back to the youth because we understand that is what's most important, and they also were able to work globally and in the entertainment world being popular influencers. With everything that we're doing, where we're all set to give back to our community and be able to continue to help our youth grow with horses, and through horses. 

Ayana Young  Yeah, well, I'm wondering, how has the connection with horses been therapeutic and a vital outlet throughout your life? And how have you seen this type of connection come to help others as well, whether that be the youth or the community, etc.

Keiara Wade  So for me growing up in the household, it was a little hectic, and growing up around gang violence and verbal abuse and alcohol abuse. Those things would have trauma effect on me in negative ways. However, as a kid, you don't understand that you don't know that because I've always had the horses and I feel like the horses gave me the balance to take on everything that I was, you know, enduring in life as a young child. And when I went off to college, that's when I really discovered how much horses meant to me, because they taught me the absence of horses is to understand how much they meant. So what I can understand is just being a kid and looking back, it helped me to gain responsibility. Respect, and respect is a big factor. Being with the horses, because you can't demand respect you have to give the respect, and the horses will give it back to you. So respect is the main thing that gives you a sense of integrity, humanity, that also allows you to have some level of accountability, a different self awareness as well. And though it helped me to communicate and be able to understand my own personal trauma issues––things that I was dealing with in life still as an adult today. You know, it's part of my healing journey. And it's very therapeutic for me. And so for the kids, we have seen the same thing. 

Some kids may have behavioral issues, they might grow up in a different household where some of these things are going on whether it's feeling neglected, whether it's the yelling, verbal abuse, or being in foster care, or just absence of parents, any of those things that could have a negative impact on a child. We are able to allow the horses to give them a sense of comfort. And with the comfort, it allows the kids to ultimately be able to find themselves. So it's a way of you actually communicating with yourself not knowing that you're communicating with yourself. And all that is to help you be a better human being. I believe the same with adults, people who we know were riding horses, they still have some sense of horce attachment. You know, something that you just can never let go because it brings so much peace to your life. And I don't think a lot of people look at it in that sense, because it's just something that we were just doing as a second nature. But for us, and really understanding how we took this negative and turned it positive, we look at it in a different perspective. And that's how we're able to come up with these different strategies, and different influence ways to help our community to overcome different obstacles that they may have endured or may still be enduring. You know, the horses can give you some type of balance and peace.

Ayana Young  Beautiful. Yeah, I'm wondering more about the youth and thinking about how formative activities like riding really matter for young people. And yeah, how does your work prioritize valuing the experiences and needs of youth? And how is your experience as a parent shaped the way you understand the need for programs like Compton Junior Equestrians?

Keiara Wade  I believe they both go hand in hand with the question because it allows me to do what's in my heart. You know, with, with riding horses, and with teaching kids how to ride horses. Also, being a parent, the way that I interact with these children is as if they were my own children. To add to that, a lot of kids don't have somebody they can look up to, they don't have a mentor, or a positive outlet for them. So with the interaction that we have with these kids, for me is taken on as being that mentor that they may need. And also for me, I didn't have that mentor. You know, I have family members, hHowever, some things that I dealt with in life, I wasn't able to speak about until I became older. So the importance of it is to be able to lead by example, we want to be the role model that someone has never seen or give them a different outlook on life and maybe make them want to make better decisions. And the same with being a parent, I'm leading by example. And I'm instilling certain things in my kids that they're able to appreciate as they grow and get older, because it's teaching them you know, responsibility, respect, self awareness, and what hard work is. Hard work always pays off. However, you have to be willing to put the time in. And for us, I just believe that it's something that's so deeply in our hearts and we feel so driven by doing this . This is what we're called to do and we're putting our best foot forward every day, by being a positive influencer, to being a person, being a parent. And all those things all come back to one, the ultimately, just living with humanity and being an example of what that looks like.

Ayana Young  And so often I think our culture views children's needs and feelings as somehow lesser or on a different level from adults. So I'm wondering how can we come to place value in children and invest in young people as a culture?

Keiara Wade  I think the first thing that we have to understand is that just because they're children, does not mean that they don't have feelings. They might not know how to internalize it and express it, but they have feelings. So what I was always taught is to treat someone how you want to be treated. Same thing, I'm telling my kids when I talking to these young kids, same thing. Because you never know what a person is dealing with. However, if we don't allow the children to start off with something that's positive to go after, all we're doing is allowing them to neglect that as they get older, which makes it harder for them to be able to define what could be an issue of pain or hurt, abandonment, whatever it could be. It's going to be hard for them to define it if as a child, they felt like they weren't important that their voice wasn't being heard. And it's all in a way of respecting them at their age, you have to meet a child where they are, and understanding them, taking the time to want to understand who they are. If you're not being a parent, you know. So when you're not the parent, you don't know what they've experienced. With being a parent, they're still growing. So their mind is evolving. And you have to respect the fact that is part of life itself. Because as an adult, we don't always understand certain feelings that we may be feeling. At that moment, we have to take a step back, and sometimes sit within ourselves and say, "Okay, this happened and I responded this way, but why did I do that? Or how am I feeling about it?" So I think the same with kids, as the younger we are able to understand that about their growth and who they are, and not look at them as they're just a kid, they don't have any feeling or they don't remember, I think that we'll be able to tackle it faster. Because, for me, I know growing up, I wasn't able to express myself, because I was told "You're a child and I'm the adult," for most cases, you know, so that means that I learned to not share my thoughts, whether they were good or bad, or something that was frightening to me, because I felt that I wasn't heard. 

However, as an adult, and on this healing journey, certain things had to come back to me to understand that feeling by experiencing that feeling again, and I will have to sit in that and say, "Okay, I felt this feeling when I was a kid. And this is what happened with the situation. Now as an adult, I'm feeling the same feeling. Why is that?" So now I have to dissect it and break it all down and get back down to the root, versus if we understand that could happen to a child, we wouldn't allow certain things to be placed on them so that we wouldn't have to try to correct them and geld them. They can grow up and be able to express themselves. I understand what it's like to be heard. I understand, it's okay to have emotions, whether they're good or bad and somebody's just taking the time to actually listen to them.

Ayana Young  Thank you for sharing all that. And I wanted to read from the New York Times article "Evoking History: Black Cowboys Take to the Streets." You discuss showing up to the 2020 marches on horseback saying, quote,"These horses feel whatever we feel they are hurting right now because we are hurting right now too. There's so much love and unity within the black cowboy and cowgirl community. We're just trying to bring that energy to these marches in a peaceful way," end quote. So I'm wondering how does your connection with the horses provide it an emotional outlet and a place for solace and strength?

Keiara Wade  Horses and humans have a synergy together. We are speaking the same language, but we don't speak the same language. So that's where it comes to, you have to respect a horse first, and the horse will respect you. So you have to learn the horses way of communicating and then you guys can communicate together. Versus a human, you know, where it's a verbally speak to one another.

So, example, say if, for me, having a emotional day, I can go down to the barn and my demeanor, my attitude, my energy is given that to the horse. And my horse can recognize that and what the horse can do is take her nose and rub it on me. And that's, to me, that's a way of letting me know, communicating, "hi." It's a love language. So with that, it's like someone understands me, someone knows what I'm going through without me having to say anything. So that's what's very important when you're riding these horses, and you're getting this connection, this bond, it's so much deeper because we don't speak the same language. Yet, we come to a point where we can understand when your horse doesn't like certain food, or if your horse doesn't like a certain person. You know, horses, it's energy, just the same as babies. So if you bring a person around your horse that's not a good energy, your horse will do something to let you know that. And you have to be in tune within yourself, to understand that your horse is communicating to you. And I think that horses daily remind us of that, because we have to communicate with each other. And it allows us to dig deeper within ourselves. 

Ayana Young  I really appreciate hearing that. And I sense that so much of your work is made possible by the horses themselves. And I'm thinking about how you foster a deep and caring connection to them, valuing both their role in the spot and the more personal connection you have to them outside of just riding.

Keiara Wade  So these horses are my babies. And the reason being is because they get me. They understand me. I don't have to speak and they can make me feel better. Give me a sense of peace, because they're peaceful horses. They're peaceful. Their nature is peaceful. We as humans will come and interrupt that peace for them. So again, with being around the horses, they constantly remind us of how to bring ourselves back into peace. And by us standing to peace, we're able to put that energy into the world. So they're just as important to us as we are to them. And we're very aware of that and what they bring for us in a deeper way because peace is something that money can't buy you know, so we always want to put their feelings first but again that's where it comes into staying connected within ourselves to be aware of them communicating with us and we're meeting their needs and if we meet their needs they're going to go over and beyond to meet ours.

Ayana Young  Gosh, I wish I had a deeper connection with horses right now. Heaering you speak. I feel so moved. I'm like oh yeah.

Keiara Wade  Do you have dogs? I do? Yes, yes. So my way of interpreted is that horses are big dogs that you can ride.

Ayana Young  That's amazing,

Keiara Wade  That's honestly the way that I feel... I grew up with dogs and horses. And honestly, that's what the horses bring, to me. It's the same thing of how you communicate with this dog, you have to understand, when the dog doesn't like a certain food, or when the dog doesn't like a certain person, you know, because the dogs will let you know. And by their gestures, or if you have a house, dog and potty train them, it's a way of them communicating to you and picking up on your communicating skills. You know, and the same with horses, it's just that we're on their back. So you have this big ol powerful animal, however, this animal was looking for you to protect them. So that's the easiest way for me to break it down and understanding how to appreciate them. Animals allow us to see things in ourselves that we're not aware of. And that can be just we're caught up, you know, social media, life is moving so fast. But again, at the beginning of time before there were cars, we had horses. You know, when life was simpler, they were our everything––from farming to transportation. Now, we have them and I believe that if anybody has any type of animal, that they should really just take more time to sit with the animal. And sitting with the animal, I believe it would allow us to reconnect within ourselves. Because at some point, over the years, we have been losing ourselves more and more and by animals giving us a sense of awareness, it would allow us to be in tune within ourselves.

Ayana Young  Yeah, and maybe just as another follow-up to this before we move on. On their website, Compton Junior Equestrians, they explained, quote, "Teach leadership, community involvement, respect for animals in nature, respect for others and themselves, so that they may be productive members of our community." And so, yeah, I'm thinking about how does care for animals and people and community permeate into the culture of your work.

Keiara Wade  Caring for animals is something that makes me feel good to do a good deed. So for me to care for this animal, for this animal to depend on me, but also to see this animal healthy, to see this animal happy, to see this animal giving me the love that is so rewarding, because again, the way that this animal says thank you. It's not verbally. So it's indescribable feeling, and again, to make somebody's day, so to speak. But I'm taking care of this animal, and I'm providing for this animal, the best that this animal could have with my knowledge. And continually growing to understand how I can continue to meet this animal's needs is to me that's like, extremely rewarding and it's what I'm called to do. I like to take care of people. I like to make people's day. I like to make somebody's life easier. Because again, the way that it comes back to me, God allows me to continue to do this and show what life truly is about, I believe. You know, and it's love. And this is a form of love and expression of love, by caring for this animal. And then when you see how much the animal appreciates that, because again, the animal will give you 100% and try their best to always please and satisfy you.

And that's coming more so from being a parent but also being a professional athlete. So with barrel racing, that's what the sport that I do. And those animals, they have to be so in sync with me or I have to be so in sync with them. We have to be in sync with each other, and to know that when we're out there, and we're doing this fast event, and we're trusting one another,  that is so rewarding for me. And on the parent side, to trust this big, large animal to not harm my kids. I have a two-year-old, and a six year old. My daughter, her first time was on a horse, she was nine months old. And the horse did not do anything crazy. You know, my son, he's two years old now he's able to walk the horse. He helps me feed the horse. He can be around the horse, where I don't have to feel Oh, this horse is going to try to harm my son, you know. And that's another rewarding feeling of letting me know that I'm doing a good job. And this animal was letting me know, You take care of me, I'm going to take care of you and whatever you're connected to. 

Ayana Young  Yeah. It's just so beautiful. I love talking about this. I have definitely felt a deep kinship with animals and I have a dog right now that I am so obsessed with him. I love taking care of him, and it can be stressful at times because I want what's best. But the space he can bring me into. And honestly, the space he can bring me out of is incredible how much intimacy with him changes me. And yeah, so thanks for sharing all this. 

 And so now moving on to another topic, I wanted to discuss how equine sports have typically been incredibly cost-prohibitive and often extremely class-based and exclusive, and I'm wondering how you navigate the stereotypes of what it means to work with horses, and that exclusive culture that often surrounds the sport.

Keiara Wade  I believe the way that I've navigated through this throughout life is showing the representation of the love that I have for this animal. And I also believe that so we're doing, Compton Cowboys. You know, we're taking the childhood experiences that we had with the animals on how they helped us stay aligned or not to also astray, and all the positive of a positive thing that the horse is brought to us, and we're appreciative of them. And what we're doing is allowing our community to experience the positivity that these horses have brought to our lives. And we're given that back. So again, we're just leading by example. I believe that when you're truly doing what you set out to do, everything else doesn't matter. So we're truly here to give back to our community. And we are showing the community through what we do with our community, that we love these animals. And the way they let us know that they're not being harmed, or we're taking good care of them, that we do actually love them is by how they reward us. We're able to allow these children who have never been around horses before, and they're safe. So if a horse is in any kind of danger or not treated properly, they wouldn't be so willing to do so. So I think that's just what it is. We're just living by example, and we're blocking out the negative and we're continuing to love these animals the way that we do wholeheartedly.

Ayana Young  And how would you like to see the culture shift around equine sports and care in the future?

Keiara Wade  I would like for it to be more supportive in a positive way. Because, again, we understand what the horses and humans synergy brings and what it does for us. You know, so they have therapeutic riding for disabled kids. It helps out a gives a different motivation, and for us, we're working with inner city kids, you know, and we come from different backgrounds. So the horses have positive impacts. I would like to see that the society appreciate what positivity the horses have brought to us and not get so caught up in their own way of thinking, so to speak. Because if you look and see what has been done in a positive way, you won't feel the way that you're feeling about these animals, I believe. 

Ayana Young  And I want to get back to something we briefly touched on earlier with horses and protests and resistance and marches and the Compton Cowboys were particularly active in the 2020, Black Lives Matter protests. And I'm wondering how have you carried the ethos of resistance through the organization in the years following.

Keiara Wade  Again, we're just here to really do what we believe. And with that time, you know, with everything going on, that was what we needed to do. And it says home for us as young individuals, you know, but also we're the Compton Cowboys, and this is what we stand for. This is what we believe in, we believe in unity. And our horses have allowed us to unite different people in different cultures. So we're standing on bad and believing that everything will continue to work out in our favor how it needs to because we are moving to do something from a higher calling. And we are living out our purpose. And all we can do is just trust our hearts and move in that way and understand and spread love and live by example.

Ayana Young  In the lesser-known history of African American cowboys, Smithsonian Magazine explains, quote, "Few images embody the spirit of the American West as well as the trailblazing, sharpshooting, horseback-riding cowboy of American lore. And though African American cowboys don't play a part in the popular narrative, historians estimate that one in four cowboys were Black," end quote. And I'm wondering, how has history been rewritten to privilege a very narrow and wide understanding of what a cowboy is? And what stories are we missing out on we only listen to this perspective?

Keiara Wade  That is interesting because growing up, I grew up riding in the only Black traveling rodeo circuit, and still is to this day--- the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo. And that is for us to understand our history in the Western culture, Western world, you know, and I believe for us as Compton Cowboys, we all are connected with the Bill Picket Rodeo, and with our history. So as long as we have our riding program, and we're able to touch kids and touch different lives and communities, we will be able to spread the word and give people a different perspective to understand the history. And that's just all we can do. You know, it's it's something that we're doing and it's causing a positive impact and it's bringing awareness to our lives.

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Ayana Young  And I guess another, like a follow up to that question is, how do you engage with a complex understanding of what cowboys are acknowledging the diversity of what it means to be a cowboy and the associations that come with it?

Keiara Wade  For me, I just do what I believe. I'm connected with these horses. I grew up riding, it was very diverse. Also like I say about the Bill Pickett Rodeo, that was the only rodeo circuit. However, I grew up in California, so we didn't have a lot of rodeos going on like they do down south. And that's where I'm currently a now. I'm in Texas to pursue my rodeo career. From what they experienced, I understand it to be. However, now in California, it has picked up more so the younger kids coming up after me, they do have more exposure to rodeo. But when I was growing up, I would go to these barrel races and I will be the only Black kid there. And I'm so grateful that I had that experience as a young kid because I didn't understand what it means for me now.

So I'm okay with any controversy, I'm okay with any negative thing that comes with not being accepted, you know, because I experienced it already as a kid. I wasn't accepted. They were all white, women and kids. They didn't accept me until I started winning. Certain people acknowledged me, however, it never made me feel less than and never change, who I was, what I thought about myself... riding horses. Again, I love to ride horses. And that's what I was there for. And not even knowing that, but that was my mind frame. And so now the things that are going on in the world today, I've already conquered so much because I might not remember every single situation, but I can remember the feeling, you know, so I'm okay with being uncomfortable. And that's just again, I just believe what's in my heart. And I just gonna that.

Ayana Young  It's such a good lesson for everyone, and how to block the noise and follow your heart and your calling. Yeah, I think connecting calling to identity, I would love to dive into some of the cultural ideas behind what it means to be a cowboy. And it seems so often we're presented with this masculine, ruggedly individualistic idea of what a real cowboy is. And I'm wondering how you're working to transcend these limiting definitions?

Keiara Wade  It is hard work. So you know, so when you think about it, cowboy, man, hard work. And yes, it is. However, if you're a cowgirl, and this is what you truly want to do, you are willing to do the hard work. Now, me personally, I haven't done all the hard work like with the cattle and all that, but I have experienced women doing that. So it's possible, you know that you can be just as hard-working, and just as dedicated as a cowboy, being a cowgirl. And I believe that all the women, all the cowgirls are doing something that's true to their heart because it requires so much hard work, and then also been undermined, in a sense. And I believe that over the years, we have been getting more respect because of the hard work and no complaining, you know, and really loving what we do. And that's just something that is just going to have to be where it is. I think if we get caught up in not getting the acknowledgment that society say we should get then that's when things are going to go wrong in how we perceive being a cowgirl. 

But standing your ground and trusting yourself and believing in yourself where you know someone can't just push over on you because you know, you work hard, and you're dedicated to all of the work that you have put into being a successful cowgirl. 

And I don't know where that road will go. I have opened up more, because with women, they're looking to give another sport to women in the rodeo circuit at the actual high-performance rodeo level. And that's a good thing. You know, it took all these years. So I just believe that with that women did not get caught in the fact that I need to have a place because we do have a place. We have a voice. We stand and we're showing that every time we step into the arena, every time we step out and deal with these horses, and that's just all we have to do it just continue to move in our own way. And again, blocking out the noise and not getting caught up in what society may want to do to us because you have to have this in your heart to do this hard work, and to be able to take all the criticism that comes with it. And all you can do is just trust and just move forward. 

Ayana Young  Yeah, so much about trust. And I am really curious to hear more about your journey with barrel racing, as I would imagine that has taken a lot of trust. And you mentioned that you're in the process of pursuing your barrel racing career as the first Black woman to make it to the National Finals rodeo. And so I just love to hear more about this journey and the cultural culture around barrel racing.

Keiara Wade  Yes, so I am in the process of continuing my journey to being the first Black African woman to make it to the National Finals--Barrel Racer. And, again, I just appreciate my childhood adversities that I had to experience, or you can say disadvantages because, you know, little Black girl, and I don't really have the funds to pursue this rodeo career, how I would like to, however, it was in my heart and I just stuck with that. And now on this journey, being a single parent, with two kids, I'm still facing adversity. However, I have the support of my Compton Cowboys family and their understanding of how I feel about this from being a kid. And to know I've found different ways to not allow any adversity that I've experienced to hinder me. It may have slowed me down, but I stay true to us in my heart and getting closer and closer, you know, one step at a time. But again, I'm trusting everything and accept for guidance for different people to come into my life for support as well because I need the support. That's something that, you know, has to be in order to do this, because it's it's on a high level and the funding and just the focus. 

And I'm just grateful to be at this time and place right now, you know. It's not easy so I have to have my head together. So that is the main thing. Because if your head is not together, you won't be able to make the right decisions and the right moves and all that could be very vital to your outcome of any situation that you're going after.

Ayana Young  Absolutely. And what are the things you do to keep your head together and keep clear and focused?

Keiara Wade  First thing is, I pray. You know, I had to understand also, what is the difference between my calling my purpose, and my talent. Those have to go hand in hand. And that's where the prayers come in and seeking God and asking him for his direction, His wisdom, His understanding, so that I'm able to stay on course. And understanding that there is no time on me achieving this, as long as I stay aligned with who I am. So that could be something that's different to what you know, society sees is, well, you're this age, and you have this and it could be all these different things that against you and you haven't made it there. But I just know that I'm on that journey. Every step is getting closer and closer. So I just, you know, make sure that I block out the noise, requires me to not talk to people so much, not to express so much and really understand who I am as a person and what I possess and how to protect that. And that's all protected by peace. 

Ayana Young  Yeah, well, thanks so much for sharing about how you keep yourself clear and focused and ready for what's ahead. And yeah, as we come to a close on this conversation, I guess I just wanted to ask, what kind of future do you hope the Compton Cowboys will create, and if there's anything else you want to close us off with.

Keiara Wade  I just would like for, you know, us as Compton Cowboys to continue what we're doing for our community, believing in what we believe in and holding on to that and being that example. But also to understand again, that the timetable is not our time. You know, and we just have to just go through it because again, when you're doing something that is never been heard of in the way that we're doing it, a lot of people can't see it, because it's never been done. So we have to stay connected, believing and trusting, and understanding that we're on a mission for a higher calling. And we just have to continue to do what we've been doing. Our lives, that's what got us to be in this position. And really just be humble enough, ever grateful to know that we are making history. And we just continue to do that. So paving the way for the generations to come to allow them to experience more than what we've gotten. We're doing it for the generations to come so that we can be able to leave a positive mark and allow them to happen just a little bit easier than what we had to go through.

Ayana Young  Well, Keiara, I thank you so much for sharing with us. And I really enjoyed imagining the horses through this conversation and then you and your connection with them. And so I really appreciate being able to share this time and hear from you.

Keiara Wade  Well, thank you for having me and I'm glad that I was able to just shed the light on what we do as a Compton Cowboys and to have this conversation with you. So thank you.

José Alejandro Rivera Thanks for listening to For The Wild. The music you heard today is by Jess Williamson, Sarah Maricha White, and Kaivalya. For The Wild is created by Ayana Young, Erica Ekrem, Julia Jackson, Jackson Kroopf, Evan Tenenbaum, and José Alejandro Rivera.