Newt Mitchum’s love for riding horses started when he was only three years old. Since then, his passion has grown into the Arkansas 7 Express, a non-profit riding club that teaches Fort Smith, Ark., area youth the joys of horsemanship.
"I’ve always been a horse guy," said Newt. "Horses have been my life. Both sides of my family were always into cowboying." Newt was born in Kansas City and has family in Morrilton, Ark.
Newt drives a truck as an independent operator. To help fund Arkansas 7 Express, he also runs a horse boarding and riding lessons operation at 4406 North 6th Street in Fort Smith. Even inside Arkansas’ second-largest city, Newt boards around 20 horses at any given time. But it’s the frequent rides of the Arkansas 7 Express that really draw attention on the busy streets of Fort Smith.
"The biggest issue of riding horses in the city is safety," said Newt. "We ride almost every day, and we always ride together and wear reflective vests. We have about five outriders who direct traffic in the front, middle and back."
Many of Newt’s riders are city kids who have never been close to a horse until they go to a meeting of the Arkansas 7 Express, which Newt started on his own two years ago. This year, 22 youths are part of the club, and counting the adults who help out, Arkansas 7 Express claims 47 total members.
"About all our kids had never been on a horse until they came to one of our meetings," said Newt. "We teach good horsemanship, and we have kids who had never ridden before who now look like they were born in the saddle."
Many of the Arkansas 7 Express riders are African-American, but the group is open to anybody with an interest in horses and riding. "We get everybody," said Newt.
In addition to frequent rides in the city, the young members have daily assignments to care for the horses and keep up their pens and stables. "We teach through repetition," said Newt. "It’s seven days a week, and we have a daily program that depends on the weather. We feed, water and do vet work."
During the summer months, the Arkansas 7 Express participates in many rodeos, traveling as far away as Kansas City, where 13-year-old club member Tia Smith competed in barrel racing this year. The club also rides in the Grand Entry of the Old Fort Days Rodeo, one of the largest rodeo grand entries in the country.
Newt is inspired by the rich history of horsemanship of Fort Smith, dating back to when Judge Isaac C. Parker presided in his courtroom on the edge of the Indian Territory. Deputy U.S. Marshals, including the legendary Bass Reeves, frequently traveled into Oklahoma to enforce federal laws and arrest fugitives. Reeves was one of the few black U.S. Marshals at the time.
The club currently has 11 horses, and outfits each member with riding clothes. The club name actually comes from the shirts the members wear. "Back in the day, the old cowboys had only one shirt," smiled Newt, "but we got seven shirts to wear, one for every day of the week."
