RIDE OUT TO VOTE
A powerful new film from Equestrians For Social Change is inspiring people to make a statement at the polls this year.
The sight of equestrian Brianna Noble atop her horse, Dapper Dan, leading fellow Black Lives Matter protestors through the streets of Oakland has already become one of movement’s iconic images. “Where I feel powerful is on my horse,” Bri told The Chronicle of The Horse after the event. “Walking him through to that protest and getting there and [having all] those people follow me, I’m like, this is powerful. This is something that I can do that’s good. This is where I can be big, and this is where I can make a difference. It’s a really deep thing.”
Today she’s welding that power to encourage people to get out and vote. Bri, along with filmmakers Yoram Savion and Kyla Searle, released Ride Out to Vote (ROTV) yesterday, a short but impactful get-out-the-vote film for online audiences. ROTV inspires viewers to get their ballots to the polls and to post pictures of their experience using the hashtag #RideOutToVote. “Generally those seen sitting atop a horses back throughout history, and in our textbooks are white, and powerful. Generals. Conquerors. Horses are large. Their size can be intimidating, their presence humbling. They cannot be easily ignored. When we climb upon their back we are placing ourselves in a position of power. We are putting ourselves into a position we historically have not been seen in.” Watch the full video above and share it widely!
“Generally those seen sitting atop a horses back throughout history, and in our textbooks are white, and powerful. Generals. Conquerors. Horses are large. Their size can be intimidating, their presence humbling. They cannot be easily ignored. When we climb upon their back we are placing ourselves in a position of power. We are putting ourselves into a position we historically have not been seen in.”
Celebrating Americans' sacred right and duty to vote, the video was shot in iconic Bay Area locations with a diverse array of equestrians including Bri, who owns Mulatto Meadows Horseback Riding Center in Martinez, and also heads up Humble, a project at the center that works to expose underprivileged and marginalized communities to the horse world. “Our mission here at Mulatto Meadows is to use horses as a medium to inspire positivity. Right now voting is of utmost importance. We thought that creating a get out to vote video like this could inspire lots of people to get out and vote who may have not done so otherwise.”
There will also be a ride out to vote ride in Oakland tomorrow, in solidarity with the Compton Cowboys' Fuck Talking. Go Vote. project. On Thursday, October 29th at 3 p.m., Brianna Noble and Molly Gore of Fuck Talking. Go Vote will participate in the #RideOutToVote call-to-action in real time, leading a local group of riders around Oakland’s Lake Merritt to the Alameda County Courthouse to drop off mail-in-ballots. Meeting place TBD. Visit Fuck Talking. Go Vote for updates. Say Bri, “We will ride from Laney to Alameda county courthouse and welcome the community to ride with us in their own way. Bike out, walk out, jog out, scooter out, skateboard out. We just want folks to get out and vote!”