By Eric Muhammad (Unedited)
It appears when we think of images of success for our young Black daughters we see the Beyonces, Rihannas or the Nikki Minajs of the future. But never would we ever consider the Donna Cheeks of the future, the first Black female equestrian to qualify for the 1996 Olympics Team.
Young Sumayyah Muhammad has been riding for about six years. At her first horse show in lead line, the judge said she was a natural. Since riding, she now wants to be a veterinarian and horse trainer and aspires to compete in the Olympics. Riding gives Sumayyah a confidence and sense of accomplishment that she may not be able to achieve following the path of least resistance. So, instead she rides on her own trail. When she was about five years old, she was afraid to even pet a horse let alone ride, although she seemed to love the beauty of the horse. She now competes in short stirrup and equitation divisions of hunter/jumper.
Riding takes discipline, confidence and focus as well as determination. Sumayyah has developed greatly in her confidence level just from riding in such a short time. She has demonstrated her love and determination after she had her first fall after performing a jump at age seven. Now 12, she has taken a few tumbles since then. She always gets right back up on the horse and continues to ride realizing it is just the nature of the business like with any other sport, bumps and bruises are a part of the uniform. Despite the ups and downs Sumayyah has acquired numerous ribbons. Mostly blue and red ribbons adorn the walls in her room with an array of champion and reserve champion ribbons. Sumayyah has found a home in the top ten of the VSHA (Virginia Horse Show Series) and HRHSS (Hampton Roads Horse Show Series) circuits. She is now gearing up to compete in the “A-Rated” shows next season which usually draws sponsors and college recruiters’ eyes.
Surprisingly, there are other young Black women equestrians and slowly but surely, more are on the rise. It is a wonderful thing to see our young ladies competing and doing things outside the normal dancing and singing and showcasing other talents. Sumayyah is a 7th grade straight “A” student with high academics and high aspirations as an equestrian which gives her opportunities for scholarships. She also became a published author when she was just 8 years old of a book entitled “Little Wisdom”, a book of inspirational and thought-provoking poems. Not just cute rhythmic words but encouraging words that will inspire you, make you think and smile. This book is a reminder of what our children can do and become. It will make you pay closer attention to your children and what is on their minds. We don’t always give our little ones credit for expressing intelligent thought; thoughts that may make us as adults reflect on our guidance. It will make us all look inward and focus on being better adults and guides for our youth.
Sumayyah has inspired many young children, particularly young Black girls who aspire to be the best in all that they can be with the intelligence of her mind and confidence in her ride. “We would love to introduce this opportunity to our young people as an alternative. Because we all can’t gain scholarships by playing basketball, baseball or football. The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that there are “no impossibilities” so if we show our children different avenues of accomplishment they can and will accomplish what they desire with no limitations or doubts.”
Source: Eric Muhammad <emuhammad19@gmail.com>