Ruby Nicholas and Dorothy Cumbo

Do you know who they are?

It's Ruby Nicholas (left) and her daughter Dorothy Cumbo!

For Black Americans in the late 1930s and early 1940s, horse shows were trending. But Jim Crow law and custom kept them out of most events. Looking for a welcoming competition venue, they organized their own shows in Chicago’s Hyde Park, in the Detroit suburbs, in Pittsburgh, and in New York City. The most fashionable people showed up to see and be seen— civil rights leaders, public officials, business owners, entertainers, and sports figures. In this 1941 photo from the New York Amsterdam News, Ruby Nicholas relaxes between rides with her daughter Dorothy Cumbo and her equine partner at the Harlem Horse Show.