Isaac Yowman, a Houston-based filmmaker, recently released a short film titled Rides & Hides which honors black excellence.
The four-minute tribute gives credit to black cowboys, specifically honoring black women in the cowboy genre.
The film has been released on Yowman’s YouTube page, IYO Visuals, and Instagram page, Chill Vibes.
Rides & Hides is a nod to the Black trailblazers in the cowboy culture, particularly Myrtis Dightman Sr. (who broke down barriers in 1966 by becoming the first Black cowboy to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo), his daughter Adia Dightman, the Prairie View Trail Riders, and the women who were and currently participate in the movement.
The project is reportedly a part of Adidas’ Honoring Black Excellence national campaign in collaboration with Premium Goods.
“My team and I met Myrtis Dightman, Sr., and his immediate family on their 150-acre ranch out in Crockett, and Adia Dightman, his granddaughter, organized everything,”,” Yowman revealed in a press release.
Yowman talked about how Dightman’s granddaughter has since taken on the responsibility of arranging similar events to ensure that siblings and their offspring continue the legacy her ‘paw paw’ began.
Yowman is said to have stated that he felt he was a natural fit for this project and that he would like to be involved in a more in-depth project about the family.