Story and photos by:
Amina Ramsey
Senior Reporter
Dublin, Georgia is home to a group of cowboys and cowgirls that “run the south” and give back to the community in a big, country-loving way.
These cowboys and cowgirls do so by forming groups called horse clubs. Southeastern Platinum Riderz is a unisex horse club led by none other than Bergen Herd, a woman better known as Platinum.
The club initially started because a group of people wanted to go to the Kentucky Derby. Overtime, the creator separated from the club and Platinum kept the ownership.
Platinum first fell in love with horses during the summers she spent with her grandmother as a child. Out of over 27 grandchildren, she is the only one that fell in love with horses.
“I fell in love with it because it helped you stay focused on life in general,” Platinum said. “Ain’t nothing like training a 1,200 pound animal that you can bond with.”
Platinum is the leader of both the unisex horse club, Southeastern Platinum Riderz, and the all-female cowgirl club in Dublin, Best Kept Secret. The club was formerly known as Showstoppin’ Saddle Sistaz.
The horse clubs travel to different states, support other horse clubs and do home-based trail rides.
The trail ride is where all the fun happens. It is a special event to look forward to for everyone involved, especially Platinum.
“It’s therapeutic,” Platinum said. “You go through so much during the week. The trail rides just give you a chance to sit with friends, meet new friends, sit back, relax, unwind, and breathe.”
The horse clubs go on trail rides through nature for two days and they stop and camp out on fields located off of the trail. During the camp-outs there are competitions, horse races, BBQ, and fish fries.
“The trail ride kicks off usually at nine or 10 in the morning on Friday, and that’s the day of the meet and greet,” Platinum said.
Friday is the day specially reserved for fish fries or some form of seafood to jump start the trail ride. Saturday is the biggest day of the camp-out. That is the day of the competitions and the BBQ.
Sometimes, raffles are done to help raise money for the prizes that people win during these competitions. Prizes for winning the races include money, gift cards to supply stores, feed and tack for the horses, a bale of hay, and any other horse necessities.
During and after the races people enjoy fresh BBQ, which includes a whole roasted hog, weighing anywhere from 95 to 200 pounds hog, prepared by Jammario Yorker and Teon Tillman.
Yorker is from Sandersville, Georgia, and he is the grill-pit master during the camp outs. Yorker roasts the hog for at least eight hours. Depending on the weight of the hog, it can roast anywhere from 12 to 16 hours. They also grill chicken leg quarters and sausages for everyone to enjoy.
“It feels good to cook for the trail rides, and the reason why is because I get to give back to the community,” Yorker said. “It keeps young and older people out of trouble with something different instead of bikes and cars. We use horses.”
Teon Tillman is from Wrightsville, Georgia. He and Yorker are members of a horse club called the Tri-County Saddle Club. All the work that the Tri-County Saddle Club does is for free. The work they do includes funerals, children's birthday parties, and weddings, all free of charge.
“We just love to give back to the community,” Tillman said. “I invite anyone interested to try it out. People love it and it’s a different environment.”