Peacock’s new three-part documentary High Horse: The Black Cowboy is officially streaming, and Tina Knowles is one of several high-profile voices helping the series unpack the often-overlooked legacy of Black cowboys in American culture.
Executive-produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, the project traces the deep historical roots of Black riders—from the 19th-century frontier to modern rodeo culture—and includes commentary from artists and entertainers such as Pam Grier, Lori Harvey, Bun B, Blanco Brown, INK, Rick Ross, and Peele himself.
Knowles appears in episode three, where she opens up about her experiences navigating predominantly white spaces associated with Western and equestrian culture.
And according to People, one moment in particular stands out: her appearance at the 2024 Kentucky Derby, an event she describes as “a very big wake-up call.”
According to Knowles, the red carpet became the site of an unexpected and uncomfortable interaction. She recounts waiting in line when a staffer announced that she was next to be escorted through. “And the other young lady walked up and said, ‘Oh no, because we need a…’ And ran right into my face,” Knowles recalls in the documentary.
She says she responded, “‘…a white person?’” before the staffer stepped around her and ushered a white couple ahead instead. “It’s racially charged there,” she adds in the episode. “There’s a lot of racially charged energy.”
Knowles’ account also aligns with the broader context explored in High Horse. The series highlights the complicated racial history of the Kentucky Derby itself—an event dating back to 1875, whose first winner, Oliver Lewis, was a Black jockey.
Black horsemen dominated the early decades of the Derby, winning 15 of the first 28 races, before Jim Crow–era discrimination pushed them out of the spotlight and into lower-visibility roles.
Knowles also uses the documentary to revisit the reaction surrounding Beyoncé’s 2024 Cowboy Carter release, which earned a Grammy and sparked debates about who is—and isn’t—allowed to participate in country music.
She notes that some critics dismissed Beyoncé’s work as appropriation, despite the genre’s documented Black origins. “I learned about Linda Martell through my daughter,” Knowles says in the episode, referencing the pioneering country performer.
She pushes back on claims that Beyoncé was “rewriting” history: “No, you rewrote the history. We’re just going back and straightening the story out.”