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[[image - Donna Cheek riding in equestrian event]]
[[caption]] 19-year-old Donna Cheek is the first black person to represent the U.S. in an international equestrian event. Photo by Susan Ragan. [[/caption]]


Howard Sisters

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Sherri Howard

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Denean Howard

When Eugene Howard, a retired Air Force sergeant and former all-state track and basketball prep star in Michigan, was helping to raise a family of six girls in an off-the-wall series of homes in Alaska, then San Bernardino, California, and finally Granada Hills, California, he set three goals for his daughters. They would get a college education, make a name for themselves in sports, and most of all, remain a family.

The Howard sisters, namely Sherri, Denean, Artra, and Tina, have surpassed even the most ambitious expectations of their father. The sisters have become synonymous with excellence in women's track.

While attending San Gorgonio High School in San Bernardino, the Howards began their assault on the track record book. In 1979, they set a national interscholastic record of 3:42.8 in the 1600 meter relay. The next year, Artra matriculated to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and her younger sisters tranferred to Granada Hills' Kennedy High. At Kennedy, the three Howard sisters were responsible for lowering the 1600 mark to 3:37.98 and setting a new 400 meter relay record of 45.81.

With a radiant smile coupled with an outgoing personality, Sherri was the first Howard to 


Donna Cheek

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[[caption]] "My advice to young people is to surround yourself with successful people. Success breeds success." [[/caption]]

"I want my life to be an example for young black women who are told they can't do something because they're black."

On October 20, 1982, in Mexico City's beautiful equestrian center, 19-year-old Donna Cheek uttered those very words as she climbed on her immaculately-groomed horse and quietly made history. As a member of the United States team in the Americas Junior Show Jumping Championships that afternoon, Donna became the first black person to represent the United States in an international grand prix horse jumping event.

Grand Prix jumping is the most demanding competition in equestrian riding. It requires riders to jump as many as 18 obstacles up to 5'3" in height and 7'3' in width. The competition originated centuries ago in Europe. It was brought to the U.S. by aristocrats who held shows in the privacy of riding clubs and the back yards of massive estates.

A show horse costs upwards of $30,000 plus $250 a month for food and care. As is the case with most young riders, donations from corporations and concerned individuals have helped ease the financial strain for Donna.

"A lot of people told me I had too many obstacles to overcome to be successful in grand prix jumping," Donna says. "They said that at 5'3" I was too short and that my skin color would hold me back. My father is a great athlete, and he told me to believe in myself and I could do almost anything."

Born 19 years ago in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in San Luis Obispo, California, Donna has won a host of grand prix titles since she followed a friend into the sport at age seven. Her success has not come without a lot of hard work on her part. She runs four miles three mornings a week. On the mornings when she isn't running, she's in the gym working out on Nautilus machines to build strength in her upper body. Six days a week, four to six hours a day, she's at the stables, cleaning and grooming her horse, studying under top trainer Scott King, and establishing a rapport with her horse. She is very careful of what she eats, trading fast foods for vegetables and fruit.

Outgoing and spirited, Donna appears to be the media star equestrian sports have been seeking. Motown has already taken out an option to make her story into a movie - a movie that Donna hopes can end with a scene showing her winning a medal in the 1984 Olympics. Such a medal is her current goal. 

"I really love grand prix jumping," Donna says. "It's a very exciting sport that has enabled me to travel places I wouldn't normally go to. It hasn't always been easy, but I've had some good people behind me. My advice to younger people is to surround yourself with successful people. Success breeds success."

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Transcription Notes:
Nautilus - in italics Motown - in italics captions of images labelled L to R, T to B