By BOBBY BOSTIC
The dictionary defines giddy-up as “a command to a horse to go ahead or go faster” (Merriam Webster), but for an inner city child the meaning may go much deeper. A child doesn’t just desire to command or tell a horse what to do. A child travels inside the horse’s being and forms a bond that words alone can’t define. A child doesn’t see themselves as greater than a horse. A horse is simply a magical creature. A horse represents hope to an inner city child who comes from poverty. Riding a horse, for inner city kids, can represent freedom.
There is a majestic connection with horses as you learn to become one with them. As you mount the horse, just landing gently in the saddle, you can already feel each other’s energy.
This was what my writer’s eye observed on November 9, 2024, when I traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to see the BridgeUP: GiddyUP young equestrians show their community the wonder that riding horses truly is. Artfully, they gave a performance with their equine partners that touched the soul of all beholders. As big and powerful as the horses are, they willingly became one with the children—they were harmonious partners in performance for their excited audience. A program such as BridgeUP: GiddyUP is priceless in what it does, not only for the children in the saddle, but also for all the people watching from the stands.
Growing up myself, a child in the inner city of St. Louis, Missouri, where we hardly ever saw horses, this part of nature’s wonder escaped us. Had I been exposed to the art of becoming an equestrian, the trajectory of my own life might have been very different. At the age of 16 years old, I committed a series of armed robberies. Although no one was seriously injured, I was sentenced to a term of 241 years in prison. While incarcerated, I read many books on nature and even read a bit about equestrian sports in my prison college courses, but that was literally a world away from my world growing up in the ghetto. The people I knew couldn’t afford to own horses, much less the acreage for them to pasture on. In prison, I wrote countless essays and eventually published nine books wherein I wrote about nature and what it can do for the human soul. I dreamed of one day riding a horse…fast forward twenty-seven years and I was released from prison.
In my life, I have still not ridden a horse, but vicariously, something happened in my soul that day as I watched the young stars of BridgeUP: GiddyUP perform with their horses on November 9, 2024 (which just so happened to be the second year anniversary of my freedom from prison—the judge who sentenced me, acting on my behalf as I repeatedly appealed for my sentence to be cut short). From my seat in the audience at the GiddyUP Spectacular, I saw myself as one of the kids up on the horse making art with our performance.
For all us in our seats on that day, the scene in front of us played out in slow motion and stirred our collective souls. For me, the GiddyUP riders represented all inner city kids in the arena that day. I saw hope and wonder in their youthful eyes. They were all heroes and sheroes—representing true equestrian professionalism in their posture, poise, and communication with their horses.
Every week, at home in St. Louis, MO, I volunteer to teach writing classes at two different juvenile detention facilities. Firsthand, I know how a program like BridgeUP: GiddyUP could change the lives of kids locked up in juvenile jails. We need more programs like this to provide hopeful opportunities for our youth.
When people think of programs to keep kids out of trouble, they don’t necessarily think of equestrian programs, but we must think outside the box if we want to reach the youth of today, as so many efforts of our current systems are actively failing them. Better ways to serve our youth must include nationwide programs like BridgeUP: GiddyUP, as such investments would provide enormous value to the youth themselves and the communities that are their homes. I want to be the first to champion this cause in a new location, starting with my own hometown of St. Louis.
What the GiddyUP riders achieved with their horses on November 9th was phenomenal, that it happened on the second anniversary of my second chance at freedom is no coincidence to me. I am a motivational speaker to make my living, but the young riders I witnessed on that day had me beyond inspired. It lit a light in all the spectators’ hearts to see them demonstrate true humanity between mankind and animals. We can come together to do amazing things, and that’s exactly how we can cross the bridge from poverty to prosperity. Like the GiddyUP riders, we can command change in our communities while riding in harmony with the nature of the horse, soulfully yelling out giddy-up all while saddling the world for a major change to benefit all humankind and the nature of the world we live in.
About the Author
Bobby Bostic is a published author and motivational speaker from St. Louis, Missouri. Google Bobby Bostic to learn more about his inspirational life journey. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter @FreeBobbyBostic. Click here to read about his publishings and visit his website here to learn more about his services.
