64 SIDELINES APRIL 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 66
Brandon Rease, 2012 Team USPA player in action.
Photo by Kaylee Scherbinski – Courtesy of USPA
who did not benefit from Lezlie’s tough love and “you want it, earn
it” regime.
Richard Prather is one of the WTR original kids and a success-
ful graduate of Lezlie’s program. He was a member of the Work
To Ride polo team that made history in 1999 as the first all Afri-
can-American team to play in the U.S. Polo Association’s Inter-
scholastic National Championships. Richard overcame learning
disabilities, graduated from high school and went on to college. In
2011 he earned his Master’s degree in criminal justice with a 3.7
GPA at New Mexico State University.
Now 34, Richard lives and works in Houston, Texas. “Work To
Ride was a lot of hard work, but it was worth it and I loved polo – I
still do,” he said. “I’m not playing or riding right now. I have a lot of
debt from school that I’m paying off. If I could go back to riding and
playing polo, I would. I’m hoping to teach – I taught at NMSU – I
love teaching and I’m very good. I helped Lezlie with WTR for a
while and I worked with the guys and always pushed education.
I would love to be an inspirational speaker. If you work hard, you
can do amazing things with your life.”
Work To Ride’s mission is a daunting task: to empower dis-
advantaged city kids with the mental and physical tools – plus
strength of character – to change the course of their lives. This
isn’t easy even in privileged communities, but what WTR and the
horses teach the kids is that life, like learning to ride, is full of
bumps, bruises, ups and downs, as well as divots to trip the un-
wary.
WTR graduate Kareem Rosser has experienced the extreme
highs (2011 USPA National Interscholastic champion, #1 all-star
and chosen for Team USPA 2012) and lows that life and horses
can deliver. Eight when first introduced to horses, he is the first
in his family to graduate from high school. Now a sophomore (by
credits) at Colorado State University, he faces the challenge of
earning his business degree and improving his grass game. He
is a member of CSU’s polo team, which finished second in the
hotly contested USPA National Intercollegiate Championships
last April.
Kareem has played polo around the USA and also in China
and Africa with some of the world’s best professional and celebrity
players, including Nacho Figueras of Ralph Lauren Polo. “Nacho
is a great guy, fun and very competitive,” Kareem said. “Jeff Hall
is one professional player I really admire. He’s a great sportsman
and overall good person. He’s someone I would model my game
after. I like the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch.”
That last statement pretty much reflects another aspect of Le-
zlie’s Work To Ride program. The kids learn to speak articulately,
courteously and with respect – no cussing and they have to be
good sports.
“It’s tough to manage polo and school, but I decided to go to
school and I am totally reaching for my goals,” said Kareem, now
21 (during his semester break he worked for the Coca Cola team
in Florida). “My degree in business is a safety net. I have a back-
up plan if my goals with polo don’t work out, but what I really want
is to spend all my time on the back of a Thoroughbred and play as
“Work To Ride’s mission is
a daunting task: to empower
disadvantaged city kids with the
mental and physical tools – plus
strength of character – to change
the course of their lives.”
2012 USPA National Interscholastic Champions, Cowtown-Work
To Ride: Daymar Rosser, Brandon Rease, Julia Smith, Kareem
Rosser.
Photo by Lezlie Hiner
