2006 Hall of Fame Inductee
Rosieleetta Lee Reed

2006 Hall of Fame Inductee

Rosieleetta “Lee” Reed

Rosieleetta “Lee” Reed founded the Lakeside Riders Club as an outreach and community service non-profit dedicated to providing positive avenues for the energies of disadvantaged youth. Her organization teaches youth ages 6-18 the fundamentals of horseback riding, hunting, fishing and camping. Texas black history and the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers are also emphasized.

As Reed’s riders develop in the program, they perform in rodeos, parades, and honor guards. Her efforts have resulted in her receiving multiple awards including, but not limited to, The Frist Humanitarian Award from Medical City of Dallas and the Jefferson Award’s- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for “Outstanding Public Service Benefiting Communities”. Reed is one of five people awarded the national Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award by the American Institute for Public Service.

Reed continues to educate people about the history and heritage of cowboys and cowgirls of color. Today she serves as the Health and Wellness Coordinator of the Huff Wagon Train project that serves dozens of students from California and Texas. The project requires participants to board mule-drawn wagons and retrace the route of the gold rush adventurer William P. Huff. The journey takes the students from El Paso through New Mexico and back to Texas.

Reed makes numerous presentations each year to multiple organizations such as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the National Cowboys of Color Museum and the George Bush Memorial library to name a few. She also travels statewide as a trooper in the Texas Buffalo Soldier Regiment conducting educational programs in Texas schools.

Reed specializes in presentations about Cathay Williams, the first and only documented female Buffalo soldier, and Stage Coach Mary Fields, the first Black woman to work for the US postal service.

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