National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame

by Lyn Horner

The book covers for my Texas Devlins series are in the process of being redone by my friend and fellow author Charlene Raddon, who also designs covers. You can sample her work here:       http://cover-ops.blogspot.com

Currently, Charlene is working on the cover for Dashing Irish, Tye Devlin’s story. Tye’s love interest is Lil Crawford, a Texas cowgirl with a bruised heart and a chip on her shoulder. Since her older brother died in the Civil War, Lil has more or less taken his place, working on her father’s ranch alongside the male ranch hands. She wears pants and a six shooter, and goes along on a cattle drive to Kansas.

The other day, Charlene suggested putting a skirt on Lil instead of pants for a more appealing cover, to which I agreed. After all, Lil does wear a dress occasionally. Thinking about her gave me the idea for today’s post. I first posted about real life cowgirls in July 2014. http://sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com/2014/07/women-who-dared-to-be-free.html

This time my topic is the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame and one of its honorees. Founded in 1975 in the basement of the Deaf Smith County Library in Hereford, Texas, the museum was moved to Fort Worth in 1994. It settled into its 33,000 square-foot permanent quarters in the city’s Cultural District in June 2002.

 

Wikipedia Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

The museum’s Executive Director is Pat Riley. Appointed in 1996 following the move from Hereford, Riley led the planning, design, fundraising and opening of the new museum in 2002. Riley has built upon the work started by founding director Margaret Formby, and has established the Museum on a national level.

“Cowgirls are ordinary women who have done extraordinary things.” ~Pat Riley, Executive Director, National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
 

Poster of Mural above Museum entrance, available in Museum Shop

  
 

“High Desert Princess” statue outside National Cowgirl Museum; Wikipedia Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Dedicated to honoring courageous women of the American West, the Museum is an educational resource with exhibits, a research library and a rare photo collection. Each year, Honorees are added to its Hall of Fame. The museum also sponsors special events such as the Cowgirl Spring Roundup and Cowpoke Camp. Find an event calendar on their website: http://www.cowgirl.net/

There are over 200 honorees in the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. They include pioneers, artists, businesswomen, educators, ranchers and rodeo cowgirls. A few famous ones are Georgia O'Keeffe, Sacagawea, Annie Oakley, Dale Evans, Enid Justin, Temple Grandin and Sandra Day O’Connor. Another is Joyce Gibson Roach, author, educator, rancher and 5^th generation Texan, who I quoted in my previous cowgirl post.

I recently purchased two books by Ms. Roach. One is titled Horned Toad Canyon, a children’s book about these unusual creatures that inhabit the arid, wide-open southwestern prairie. Also called horned frogs, they are the mascot for Texas Christian University, my daughter’s alma mater. How could I resist this charming little book?

The other book I purchased is The Cowgirls.
 
Here’s part of the publisher’s description:

“The cowboy may be our most authentic folk hero, but the cowgirl is right on his heels. This Spur Award winning book fills a void in the history of the cowgirl.

While Susan B. Anthony and her hoop-skirted friends were declaring that females too were created equal, Sally Skull was already riding and roping and marking cattle with her Circle S brand on the frontier of Texas.

In Colorado, Cassie Redwine rounded up her cowboys and ambushed a group of desperadoes; Ann Bassett, also of Colorado, backed down a group of men who tried to force her off the open range.

In Montana, Susan Haughian took on the United States government in a dispute over some grazing rights, and the government got the short end of the stick.

Susan McSween carried on an armed dispute between ranchers in New Mexico and the U.S. Army, and other interested citizens.

In the years of the War Between the States, women were called upon to do many things that would have been unheard of in peacetime. When the people moved west after the war, women were obliged to keep doing these things if the family was to survive. Still other groups of women—second generation cattle-country women—did men’s jobs because they were good at it. Some participated in Wild West shows and made reputations for themselves in rodeo as trick and bronc riders.”


 

"One of the most famous rodeo snapshots ever taken is of Bonnie McCarroll  being thrown from a horse named Silver at the Pendleton Round-Up in 1915"    Nat. Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame public domain photo by Walter S. Bowman
 

Since we all love romance here on Sweethearts, I’ll close with a romantic quote from Henrietta King, wife of Richard King. For 40 years after her husband’s death, Henrietta was sole owner of the King Ranch, largest ranch in North America.

"I doubt if it falls to the lot of any a bride to have so happy a honeymoon. On horseback, we roamed the broad prairies. When I grew tired, my husband would spread a Mexican blanket for me, and then I would take my siesta under the shade of the mesquite tree.”

Dashing Irish http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0069HLDJU

 

Find all of my books here: http://www.amazon.com/Lyn-Horner/e/B004CY506Y

History of American Rodeos

History of American Rodeos 

I’ve only been to a few rodeos in my life. They were different than I expected (not really sure what I did expect—probably something like the movies or on TV), different in my lifestyle since I’m a city girl, and if that’s not bad enough, I’m an east coast southerner, and the rodeos were different from each other.

The first rodeo I ever went to was when I lived in Nebraska. It was quite a production with a beginning parade of cowboys, American Indians, cowgirls, and Fes Parker who played Davy Crockett from the TV series way back in the 1960’s. It was more of a western show than it was an actual competition. There was lots of fancy riding and sparkly outfits, but not much down and dirty competition. Sorry to say, it was my only western rodeo. When my friends and I traveled into Wyoming, we didn’t attend a rodeo, but now I wish we had. I think I would have experienced what a real competitive sport it is had we done so.

I have gone to a few local rodeos here in North Carolina. I was as surprised as you might be to learn there actually are rodeos here in my state. A friend of mine owned a western store where they sold everything in western wear, horse gear, saddles, and, believe it or not, horses, too. Anyway, those rodeos were very different from my Nebraska experience. No glitz or glamour to speak of, just cowboys in blue jeans riding on crazy horses and bulls, cowgirls racing on horses around barrels, and kids trying to wrangle animals like lambs and calves. Scary action, tension, hurt cowboys, and hysterical crowds added up to a climate of real excitement. I liked it.

Although I don’t have any stories with rodeos in them (maybe later I might), but I was impressed and excited enough about rodeos to dig up some history and facts about them. You know, maybe someday I might need the information to get down and write a story with a rodeo or a rodeo star in it. Who knows? Anyway, here are some things I found out about this American sport.

The first thing I learned surprised me; rodeos originated with Spanish wranglers called Vaqueros who had competitions amongst themselves back in the early 18^th century to see who was the best wrangler was. They called these competitions simply cowboy tournaments or cowboy competitions. The word rodeo, which came from the Spanish word meaning ‘round-up’ to describe the gathering of cattle before a cattle drive, didn’t come about  until 1916.

These competitions included activities such as climbing up on the back of an angry bull and tying down runaway cattle. These affairs were usually impromptu gatherings of friends and family to brand cattle, to gather in the cattle to prepare for a drive, or some other necessary activity on the ranch and then they would celebrate with food and fun after the job was done.

Well that was okay for a while, but you know they had to find ways to up the ante because it seems the cowboy way is to see how hard they can make that competition. So, after the cattle were rounded up and branded, motivated vaqueros would put their roping and horseback riding skills on display. The tough vaqueros would climb onto the largest bull in the herd, and, with the aid of a thick piece of rope, see who could stay on the longest. The fastest horses and most skilled riders would race from one end of the pasture to the other, with the winner earning praise and applause from the cheering crowd. These primitive tests of skill set the foundation for all modern-day events. Of course these gatherings were free for whoever showed up.

In the mid 1800’s rodeos came to America. Pioneers looking for land and opportunity began to move west. Cattle ranching was the perfect occupation for new landowners and many of them began to hire the experienced Vaqueros to help them. Some ranchers had financial dilemmas trying to raise and sell cattle, so they had to find other ways to make money to support their families. Some innovative ranchers like Buffalo Bill Cody began to organize rodeo-type events to help supplement the income of many cattlemen who were willing to put their skills on display. These early rodeos included displays of roping and riding prowess, which would become the rodeo events we know today.

These early rodeos were fun, but they lacked consistency. Even the most popular rodeo organizers disagreed on how to promote events and pay the winning competitors. In 1936, a small group of cowboys formed a group to protest these inconsistent and unfair practices. Known as the Cowboys' Turtle Association, this group of expressive cowboys championed for fair prize money and safe treatment of both riders and rough stock. They changed their name to the Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1945, eventually becoming the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1975. The PRCA is the go-to organization for rodeo in the United States, hosting more than 650 sanctioned rodeos every year. The year-long battle to the top culminates in the National Finals Rodeo, the Super Bowl of the rodeo realm. The top 15 competitors in each event compete for millions in awards and prize money, along with the prestige of being crowed "World Champion" cowboy or cowgirl for the season. Plenty of blood, sweat and tears go in to making it to the top, and winning competitors wear their titles with all the honor and grace of the vaqueros that set the foundation for the rodeo events we know and love today.

The following is a list of organized events that take place during a rodeo:

Pro rodeos are composed of rough stock and timed events.

Timed events in a standard pro rodeo include:

◾Tie Down Roping

◾Team Roping

◾Steer Wrestling

◾Barrel Racing

Rough stock events include:

◾Bareback Riding

◾Saddle Bronc Riding

◾Bull Riding

Other events not seen in every rodeo but recognized by competitors as rodeo events include:

◾Breakaway Roping

◾Goat Tying

◾Pole Bending

◾Steer Roping

Other events not seen in every rodeo but recognized by competitors as rodeo events include:

◾Breakaway Roping

◾Goat Tying

◾Pole Bending

◾Steer Roping

Cowboys that participate in the Rough Stock events are referred to by competitors as “Roughies,” similarly, cowboys that participate in timed events are called “Timies”. Roughies and Timies do not usually compete in the other category. A Timie will normally hang with other Timies and vice versa.

Breakaway roping and goat tying for the ladies is a broken up version of the tie down roping for men. The calves used in the tie down roping can be a great challenge for a woman to flank; so they break up the event into two separate ones for the girls.”

So, there you have it, everything I’ve learned about rodeos and my own, although sparse, experiences with rodeos. I know you western ladies probably know a whole lot more, but I have to say it was fun digging into this bit of history. Now I think I’ll go corral a couple of dogs and a cat.

Sarah McNeal is a multi-published author of several genres including time travel, paranormal, western and historical fiction. She is a retired ER nurse who lives in North Carolina with her four-legged children, Lily, the Golden Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides her devotion to writing, she also has a great love of music and plays several instruments including violin, bagpipes, guitar and harmonica. Her books and short stories may be found at Publishing by Rebecca Vickery, Victory Tales Press, Prairie Rose Publications and Painted Pony Books, and Fire Star Press, imprints of Prairie Rose Publications. She welcomes you to her website and social media:

Website 

My Amazon Author’s Page

Sweethearts of the West

Prairie Rose Publications Blog

Photographs courtesy of Wikipedia.

Helpful links:

http://rodeo.about.com/od/history/a/rodeohistory1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rodeo

http://www.sheridanwyorodeo.com/history.htm

http://www.jacksonholehistory.org/featured/a-brief-history-of-the-jackson-hole-rodeo/

http://cowboylifestylenetwork.com/in-the-arena/rodeo/

RIDIN' AND ROPIN' - TWO SISTERS ON THE WYOMING RANGE

People think only men rode on cattle roundups, but the two Cooksley sister in Wyoming prove that theory wrong.

Elsie and Amy Cooksley were born in England in 1900 and 1903 respectively to a father who rode with the hounds. From the age of four, they learned to ride bareback. Their father fixed little jumps for them and they rode with reins in one hand and a pail of water in the other. When they mastered the jumps without spilling water, they had good balance. I'd say so, wouldn't you?  

They were crazy about horses and rode every chance they could. In 1906, they moved to Pennsylvania. Mr. Cooksley delivered milk, then invested in a dairy herd. Elsie and Amy helped milk and feed the cows but still rode whenever they had a chance.. 

Looking for a less populated area, the family moved to Sheridan, Wyoming in 1914. They all took jobs until they could study the way of the land. Mr. Cooksley worked on a ranch, Mrs. Cooksley cooked, and the sisters worked as domestics. After a year or more, Mr. Cooksley bought two adjoining ranches. Elsie and Amy’s brother worked had been working in Parkman, got married, and didn’t join the rest of the family, so Elsie and Amy had to work as sons. And they did everything from driving farm teams to plow, rake, harrow, and all the other farm chores as well as riding watch over the cattle.

The girls wore simple trousers tucked into their tall boots, long sleeved shirts, and wide hats. Mr. Cooksley and his neighbors turned their cattle and horses out onto open range and everyone kept watch on his own stock. Because a couple of neighbors had been picked up for rustling, Elsie and Amy kept close guard on their cattle and knew where they were all the time. They always carried a branding ring and whenever they found a calf from one of their cows without a brand, they would brand it. They’d leave home after breakfast and ride all day.

Elsie said, “We were the only girls that ever rode with the roundup. I don’t know why unless due to the fact that Dad sent us out to take care of our own stock and we got started doing it.”

They took their own little teepee for sleeping. The cowboys accepted them as equals because they were good at their jobs. In fact, once the wagon boss came and asked their father if he could borrow the girls. Their father said no, he needed them to shuck grain, a job they hated. The wagon boss said he was cursed with a crew of green youngsters. He offered to send two of them to work the grain if he could borrow the girls to help him. Their father agreed, and the girls were delighted to be out riding.

To earn extra money in hard times, the girls once skinned cattle that had died in the harsh winter and sold the hides. They also broke horses. 

The sisters said on a roundup they ate breakfast at four am, lunch/dinner at ten am, supper at four pm, and moved camp before they went to bed. Half would hold the herd while the other half ate. Then they’d change horses and go to work. They rode with the roundup wagon for four or five years, two roundups a year. Elsie said that none of the cowboys ever swore or said anything off color where they could hear.   

Amy said there were a lot of dances in those days and people often rode ten or fifteen miles even in subzero weather to attend a dance. They’d dance all night then change horses and work all the next day. If they left from home, they’d tie their dresses, stockings, and shoes behind the saddle and change when they arrived at the dance. If they were riding from a roundup, they’d wear their trousers. Sometimes the hostess would provide dresses for them, but they had to wear their boots.

Elsie married John Lloyd and Amy married True Chubb. True died in 1971 and John in 1981 after a lengthy illness. The sisters continued to work their adjoining ranches as widows. They raised sheep (quite a change from cattle) and also guided hunters—only once unless they liked them. Lloyd and Chubb, as they were called by the hunters, would not let a bad sport or bad hunter return a second year.

Sheep Ranch

Amy said, “You know, everyone says we’ve led such an interesting life. But it wasn’t unusual to us. We just did it. That’s what we had to do, so we did it.”

The book from which this information was taken, COWGIRLS: WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN WEST, AN ORAL HISTORY by Teresa Jordan, was first printed in 1984. At that time, widows Elsie and Amy were still operating their ranches in Wyoming. 

What amazing women!

The book mentioned above is a great book for those of us who love the history of the Old West. I hope each of you will have the opportunity to read the entire story as well as the others, and to see the amazing photos. Since I had no permission to use them, I didn't, but there are fabulous photos of many women of the American West.

Sources:

COWGIRLS: WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN WEST, AN ORAL HISTORY, by Teresa Jordan, 1984, Anchor Books, Doubleday, New York, pp 2-10.

Wikipedia

Google commons for cattle and sheep photos