As clouds loomed over Houston’s Sunnyside neighborhood Saturday morning, dozens of trail riders sporting cowboy hats and boots saddled up on horseback or rode in wagons for an unconventional celebration: T90’s 47th annual Martin Luther King Jr. trail ride.  

Named after its founder Henry “T90” Davidson, the trail ride usually dominates the streets of Sunnyside on MLK Day, attracting hundreds to thousands of riders on horseback to celebrate the achievements of Dr. King. But this year, only a fraction of riders participated as it was one of many celebrations that were postponed in Houston due to freezing temperatures. 

While most Houstonians know about the city’s original MLK day parade, T90s trail ride has long been known to be a staple celebration in Houston’s Black community, routinely drawing people from across the U.S. to tailgate, camp out and enjoy zydeco music. In fact, it was Houston’s inaugural MLK Day celebration, launching even before the city’s MLK Day Parade in 1978, which was also the first of its kind in the U.S.

“If it was actually on MLK Day, it would’ve been chaos out here,” said Brandon Humphrey-Wilson, Davidson’s 27-year-old grandson, as he surveyed a scant lot at the corner of Bellfort Avenue and Cullen Boulevard. 

The majority of riders, he said, likely couldn’t make it because they’re preparing for the “big ride” for the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show next week.

Although this year looked different, it was still impactful. A few loyal groups of Houston-area riders were determined to show up for Davidson, the driving force behind the annual trail ride and someone they consider the grandfather and a legend in western culture.

“T90, he taught us how to drive wagons. He taught us just everything about Western culture,” said his mentee Kathy Sanders. “He’s the grandfather to us all,” she added. “If it wasn’t for him, a lot of these groups wouldn’t be out here.”

That includes her group, Sugar Shack Trailblazers, which bought their first wagon in 1981, she said.

One rider, Mike Gosey, has participated since moving to Houston in 2010 and brought his 6-year-old son to participate for the first time. 

“The energy wasn’t the same, but it’s still Black history,” he said.

How it started 

Davidson used to sneak out and ride calves and bulls as a young kid on his family ranch in Wharton, Texas — that is, until he got caught and got a “whooping.”

“I wanted to be a cowboy,” he said in January. “I didn’t have no horse to ride so I go out there and get one of them calves. Make me a horse.”

Davidson finally got his own horse when he was about 19 or 20. He left Wharton and moved to Houston’s Third Ward neighborhood in the late 1950s. Ever since then, he has been riding with the Southwestern TrailRiders of Houston, as well as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo trail riders. 

“I enjoy it,” said Davidson. “Everybody says it’s my life.”

He started branching out and doing things differently, he said, like corralling riders to go on horseback from Houston to Beaumont, riding to church at St. Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church, and organizing Christmas rides with Santa Claus on horseback to distribute gifts to kids. 

Then in 1977, he hosted his first-ever trail ride on Sampson Street to celebrate MLK Day — the federal holiday observed on the third Monday of January each year that marks the birthday of the civil rights activist —and it stuck.

Since founding the trail ride with roughly 300 riders in Third Ward in 1977, it grew rapidly within three to four years. It grew so much that the trail ride had to be moved to the more-rural area of  Sunnyside, where there was less development. Today, the ride attracts nearly 5,000 riders. 

“It got bigger and larger and larger every year,” Davidson said.

While other MLK Day celebrations are widely publicized, Davidson has managed to grow the trail ride the old-fashioned way — by word-of-mouth. 

They’ve managed to expand their following despite sparse advertising limited to personal social media accounts and handing out fliers at year-round trail rides. 

“Because it’s such a well-known event, everybody just pretty much knows he’s always going to do this ride,” said Humphrey-Wilson.

“A lot of people look forward to it,” he said. “It’s how we have always celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A lot of times before he even puts the flier out, people ask, call, and they want to know, ‘Where are the riders going to be this year?’ ‘Where is he starting from?’ Some people ask where’s the best place to be to watch the ride.”

Davidson routinely holds it on MLK Day with a diverse group of riders who are Black, Hispanic and white, he said, to celebrate and honor everything Dr. King advocated for: peace, unity and equality. 

“That’s what he fought for — for all of us to get together and be peaceful, and don’t be arguing and fighting; to be free to do things,” Davidson said. “He was trying to help us do things the right way … one race: Black, white and all.”

Different but meaningful

Year after year, herds of people hail from their homes nearby or from out of town, camp out, barbecue and tailgate to watch thousands on horseback gallup in a circuit from a gated area at 4906 Bellfort Ave., south on Martin Luther King Boulevard, and east on Orem Drive before they head north on Cullen Boulevard back to their starting point. 

Although this year attracted fewer spectators, some families still ventured to the sidewalks along Martin Luther King Boulevard to wave and catch candy from a group decked in red T-shirts called the Camp Site Intruders that rode by in a wagon. 

The Houston Police Department had roughly 50 officers on hand Saturday to control traffic and escort the riders, according to Assistant Chief Patricia Cantu, which she said is usually sufficient for the large crowd. Due to the reduced size, the ride was cut short and turned from Martin Luther King Boulevard onto Airport Boulevard rather than continuing south for another block towards Orem Drive. 

“HPD was happy to assist with the trail ride today and we’re proud of our long standing partnership that made the event successful,” according to a statement from HPD.

Passing the baton

While trail rides have become increasingly popular recently, many longtime cowboys and cowgirls say they appreciate T90’s MLK Day trail ride because it upholds traditional values and the legacy of Western cowboy culture.

“I’m not into the four-wheelers, all the ATVs, the party wagons and different things like that. I keep it strictly horses, new, full wagons and things like that,” Sanders said, noting that some modern-day trail rides are getting away from the heritage. 

Although Davidson, at 87 years old, occasionally still rides, he is starting to dial back. He sat this one out to let the “youngsters” ride. 

Now he’s beginning to pass the baton to his grandson, Humphrey-Wilson. 

After the trail ride, the celebration typically turns into an informal block party with food vendors, and riders dancing and singing to zydeco. One day, Humphrey-Wilson hopes to formalize the after-party into a country-western festival that, in addition to zydeco, also showcases local Black entrepreneurs. He also hopes to formalize the annual trail ride event into a nonprofit to provide scholarships to students in the community.

But right now, he’s simply focused on keeping his “papa’s” legacy alive.

Humphrey-Wilson cherishes fond memories with his grandfather preparing for the Houston Livestock Show. Davidson would pick him up on Friday night and they would camp out in Memorial Park to wake up early Saturday morning and line up in their stagecoach with all the different associations downtown. 

His grandparents practically raised him, so he had a front-row seat to the hard work they put into the event; all the sacrifices they made, sometimes spending their own money if some didn’t or couldn’t pay the $20 rider entry fee so they could get their signature button.

Knowing how important it is to Davidson, he’s honored to keep the tradition going.

“I just want to make him proud cause he’s 87 and most older people are set in their ways and he really doesn’t want to turn too much over but he’s letting me take over,” Humphrey-Wilson said. “So I’m honored to do it. It means a lot I guess because I’m the only grandkid that stuck with it.

“If nobody keeps it going, it’s going to stop.”

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