Last Updated on May 1, 2024 by BVN
Overview: Flora Levon Hays-Joubert, the wife of late husband Alton James Joubert, shares memories of her husband’s life and love for rodeo. Al was a committed cowboy who participated in the Bill Pickett Rodeo and served with the San Bernardino region’s Mounted Posse. Flora and Al had twin daughters who were born into the rodeo lifestyle. After Al’s passing, Flora no longer participates in rodeo events, but finds comfort in knowing that he passed doing what he loved.
Aryana Noroozi
Flora and Alton James Joubert, known as Al, met at their workplace, an aerospace company in Los Angeles in 1980. They worked in different departments but a friend encouraged them to get together and eventually, to Flora’s surprise, they began dating. Flora was also surprised to learn that Al rode horses.
They both grew up in Louisiana, but unlike Al and the rest of her family, Flora did not gravitate towards horseback riding. But as they began dating and eventually married, that changed. She embraced the horseback riding and rodeo lifestyle she learned from her husband.
Though often under-recognized or celebrated, Black cowboys played a pivotal role in American history and have continued that legacy to present day. As of last week, Beyonce’s album, Cowboy Carter debuted as the No. 1 album in the United States for a second weekend, and it is the first album by a Black woman to top the Top Country Charts album. It has brought the history of Black country artists and cowboy lifestyle front and center. Here in the inland region, one Black family, the Jouberts, share their memories of contemporary cowboy life.
“You live it, you breathe it, you eat it, you walk it, you talk it, sleep it. Those were the conversations. We were always talking about horses,” Flora said.
Today, she remembers her late husband as a committed cowboy which included his participation in the annual Bill Pickett Rodeo and his service with the San Bernardino region’s Mounted Posse, a volunteer horse mounted unit that rescues people from the mountains and performs other outdoor search and rescues.
“Cowboy boots everyday. Jeans, belt, everyday, everywhere you go,” she said, describing Al.
After Al and Flora married they moved from Los Angeles to Jurupa Valley, in search of a rural lifestyle.
“You see people in the neighborhood, we would come home from work and see folks riding their horses on the horse trails and cowboys,” Flora said. “This was the community.”
Flora and Al had twins, Andrea La Toya and Adrianne Le Trece Joubert, who are now 41 years old. Flora said they were born into the rodeo lifestyle.
“They knew how rodeos were set up. They knew the program, what comes first, what comes second, what comes third; what you do to get your horse groomed and all that kind of stuff,” Flora said. “They would play rodeos,” she explained, recounting how her daughters would pretend to be rodeo announcers and remember the names of the different competitors.
Flora and Al participated in the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo for decades. The event, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, is a touring rodeo that celebrates Black cowboys. The Black Voice News has been a media sponsor for much of that time.
Flora explained how she and Al were in various associations. “A lot of African American people weren’t in all those associations like we were, but we were all around… whatever was going on in the community we were in the community too,” she said.
After losing Al a decade ago to a horseback accident, Flora no longer participates in circuit events the same way.
“I wouldn’t understand how to tell anyone [how to cope] that had gotten invested into any sport, or something like that for many years with your spouse,” she said. Flora confided how losing a partner feels as if “a big chunk” is taken from one’s life and would not know how to advise someone experiencing this on how to navigate the next chapter of their life.
Flora attempted to attend the same events after Al passed, but it wasn’t the same. For years she tried to get back on a horse, showing up to different annual events, but it didn’t work out.
“I haven’t been on a horse in a long time,” said Flora. She was present when Al had his accident while riding his horse in the arena.
“Even though he passed being on his horse, there’s still joy in that because he was doing what he loved to do,” Andrea said. “He would have rather — I hate to say it this way — passed on his horse then passed of cancer or being sick… So, I find comfort in that.”
Black Voice News spent time with Flora and Andrea to learn about Al’s legacy as a Black cowboy, husband and father. The images below display artifacts and memories from his life that his family feels best preserves his memory.
