Women's Rodeo History

The Women's Professional Rodeo Association, which started in 1948 as a group of Texas ranch women who wanted to add a little color and femininity to the rough-and-tumble sport of rodeo, is now a computerized association with more than 2,000 members.

The group organized and called itself the Girl's Rodeo Association. It began with 74 original members with 60 approved contests and total payout of $29,000. This has evolved into a million-dollar industry with women athletes riding well-conditioned race horses. In 1995, the WPRA had approved barrel races in 800 rodeos sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association with total barrel racing prize money of $3 million.

Another section of the WPRA which is growing in popularity is the Wrangler Divisional Tour. Approved barrel races are held throughout the country with the top four money-earners from each of the 12 circuits in the United States qualifying for the Divisional Tour Finals held at the same time as the PWRA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas.

Women in Rodeo By Julie Wells

Since 1948, the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association has worked to chip away the huge barriers that separate men and women in the sport of rodeo. Specifically, their goals were to gain equality in the rodeo arena while simultaneously proving that women are a force to be recognized and appreciated. When the gates slammed shut at the last National Finals Rodeo of the 20th century, the largest part of that encumbrance fell away and a big part of those goals were achieved.

For only the second time in history, barrel racers competing at the 1999 NFR received go round and average money equal to that paid out in the men’s events. By itself, that fact is amazing. But, one female contestant helped to drive the point home a little further and made more than a few people take notice in the process. When the 10th go of competition ended, two time World Champion Barrel Racer Sherry Cervi would take home more money in a single event than any other contestant competing at the finals--male or female--and not by a small margin. With $245,369 in earnings for the year, Cervi topped the second place high money winner, Fred Whitfield who was crowned this year’s All Around and Calf Roping Champion, by more than $27,000.

From the very beginning, women have stuck their necks out for equality with varying degrees of success. In the early days of rodeo, some cowtowns recognized the ability women possessed and ditched the beauty pageants typically held for cowgirls.Instead, they held contests such as bronc riding, cutting, or barrel racing. But, those events were few and far between. From poor media coverage to dour comments to lower pay to shoddy conditions, during the first 50 years of professional rodeo, women were aging a war that few even new existed. Thanks to their grit, determination, and selflessness, the disparity that existed for nearly 50 is slowly being erased.

Modern-day, professional rodeo first got its start in 1882 when Buffalo Bill Cody made the events part of his successful Wild West Show and July Fourth celebration in North Platte, Nebraska. Cody was a dime store novel hero, buffalo hunter, and vaudeville star, and his wild west shows drew huge crowds and widespread media coverage. Cody wanted to depict life in the "real west," so he hired cowboys, Indians, and Mexican ropers to act out war dances, buffalo hunts, Pony Express rides, and stagecoach robberies. The crowds were enthralled with the roping and riding contests. Open to local residents, the contests that pitted neighbor against neighbor quickly became show staples. Not surprisingly, women didn’t play pivotal roles in Cody’s shows. Actresses played bit parts: doing laundry, cooking, herding a wild brood of children, obediently trailing behind their men as they marched across the rough and tumble territory.

In 1885, when Cody hired sharpshooter Annie Oakley, he was on to something big. Oakley was adored by the crowds because of her carefree spirit and wild antics. Recognizing the potential Oakley represented, Cody promptly hired 12 lady riders as stars of his wild west shows. Cody’s success spawned other wild west shows that flourished through the 1930s. As the events expanded, cowboy contests became more advertised and prizes became,more lucrative. Cowtowns worked year-round to organize community celebrations where friendly competition was the theme, and many were modeled after Cody’s shows.

In 1897, the first Cheyenne Frontier Days was held and it soon became the most prestigious event of that time. Women competed in bronc riding or the cow pony event or trick riding, and the crowds loved it. Realizing a need to draw larger crowds, officials throughout the country began adding women’s events to their own. Until 1920, women had many competitive opportunities and frequently competed against men for prizes. Newspaper and magazine coverage reporting on women in early rodeo was a mixed bag. Some towns gave the rodeo unbiased coverage, including the women’s sports, but most omitted the results from the women’s events as if it didn’t happen. A few sprinkled coverage with dour comments and sexist overtones. More than one writer pointed out that, although the women were competent competitors, perhaps they would fare better in the kitchen. Pioneer cowgirls tried to find a foot hold in the shifting, male-dominated world of rodeo. Some trick roped or trick rode. Some participated in sponsor events which were usually no more than crooked beauty pageants. A lucky few competed. But for the few who competed, dozens more were left with no place in rodeo other than the spectator stands.

Between 1930-1941, there were 50 women who competed in rodeos throughout the year. With the start of World War II, the number of rodeos declined dramatically as did the number of female contestants. In 1942, there were 26 women who competed: between 1943-1946 there were 12, and most were paid performers.During the summer and fall of 1942, contractors organized rodeos to entertain troops situated in various parts of the country. Since the men were off at war, rodeo was left to the women.

The first successful all-girl "entertainment" rodeo was held in Bonham, Texas, June 26-29. Organized by Fay Kirkwood, the event was highly successful and more were scheduled to bolster the troops’ spirits. However, those rodeos were never held. Responding to unwanted advances from a male officer, Kirkwood canceled the shows and removed herself and rodeo from the spotlight. The baton was then picked up by Vaughn Krieg, the 1934 Madison Square Garden champion bronc rider. She formed her own rodeo company and set about the country entertaining troops with an all-girl rodeo. Despite the excellent reception and financial success, neither Krieg or Kirkwood’s dream for rodeo would survive WW II. When tire and gas rationing intensified, Krieg was forced to bring the curtain down on her show.By early 1947, the Rodeo Cowboy’s Association (RCA), sanctioned more than 1,000 rodeos annually and cowboys competed for more than $155,000, the richest purse ever. However, there was a strong faction within the RCA that didn’t want women competing in rodeos. It wasn’t lady-like, and they felt women served a much better purpose posing as glamour girls or rodeo queens. So for most of those early rodeos, the RCA offered sponsor or queen contests for the ladies. Only occasionally was there a bronc riding exhibition.

One group that proved helpful to women was the Cowboys Amateur Association (CAA). Originating in California in 1940, its purpose was to allow amateurs to compete to gain experience before moving into the ranks of the RCA. Unlike other amateur groups, the CAA encouraged its members to compete for prize money and then required them to advance to the RCA when their winnings reached $500. Additionally, CAA rodeos included real rodeo events for women, such as barrel racing or cutting contests, with prize money ranging from $50 to $350. Although creating a professional women’s rodeo association seemed an obvious move, no one dared. Not yet, anyway. Even though women had played a small role in rodeos since the late 1880s, they were dependent on the men. In return, they were offered "prizes" instead of prize money: make-up compacts, luggage, or silver cigarette cases. Places like the Stamford Cowboy Reunion, Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, Madison Square Garden, and Boston Garden held popular sponsor contests which pitted cowgirls against one another. Their legitimacy was suspect, however, as most were won by women with excessive beauty and only limited athletic ability.

In 1947, the position of women in rodeo would be forever changed when twenty-five year old Nancy Binford and nineteen-year old Thena Mae Farr organized what would be the first ever competitive, all-girl rodeo. Held September 23-26, 1947, the rodeo was a part of Amarillo’s Tri-State Fair. Rodeo in Amarillo had long been dead. When Binford and Farr approached town officials with their idea of an all-girl rodeo, they were initially met with skepticism. But, the pair presented enough know-how to get the project off the ground. With meticulous attention to detail, they planned their rodeo right down to the last aspect. Since the two had traveled the country as rodeo queens and representatives --Binford as the Range Riders’Sweetheart and Farr as Miss Seymour--both were public relations experts. Amarillo needed an event that would draw in large crowds and, to Binford and Farr, their rodeo was just the thing.

With minimal financial backing from the city, they presented an impressive advertising campaign, walking up and down Amarillo’s streets passing out flyers and inviting sponsors to purchase ads in the rodeo program or donate prizes. The event was highly publicized throughout the Southwest and drew 75 entrants from Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, and Oklahoma who competed in bareback, calf roping, barrel racing,cutting, and the team tying contest. Entry fees ranged from $5 to $15 per event and $1,260 in prize money was paid out. They even awarded a horse trailer to the all-around champion. The rodeo was a huge success and played to standing-room only crowds. More importantly, it proved that people would pay to see women compete in rodeo events. All event winners, as well as Binford and Farr, have since been inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. The success of the Tri-State Rodeo was the nudge the cowgirls needed as those same ladies were later instrumental in the formation of the Girls Rodeo Association.

On February 28, 1948, 38 women gathered at a hotel in San Angelo, Texas, and the first-ever rodeo association just for women--the Girls Rodeo Association--was born. The group’s primary purpose was to give women legitimate, honest opportunities to compete in all-girl rodeos as well as to establish an alliance with the RCA to host women’s events in conjunction with RCA-sanctioned rodeos. They drafted and approved rules and regulations, and they enacted a point system to crown world champions. Their rules took effect in May, 1948, and GRA board members went to work, persuading rodeo committees and producers to hold women’s contests according to GRA rules.

Committees were given the option of choosing which event they would hold, and most picked barrel racing. In its inaugural year, the GRA had 74 members and they held 60 events. Two years later they had more than 100 members. (In 1981 GRA changed its name to the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association.) Today, the WPRA has more than 2,000 members and sanctions some 800 barrel races per year in conjunction with PRCA rodeos with prize money exceeding $3.9 million. Additionally, the Professional Women’s Rodeo Association (PWRA)--WPRA’s sister organization and still the home of all-girl rodeo--sanctions events all across the United States and holds its own annual world championship finals. The WPRA and PWRA receive sponsorships from business such as Coca-Cola, Copenhagen Skoal, Original Coors Brewing, Co., Justin Boot, Co., Resistol, Crown Royal, and Wrangler.

From the early days of competing for a cigarette case to competing for thousands of dollars of added money and incentive programs provided from the sponsorships secured by the WPRA, over the last half century the face of women in rodeo has certainly changed. Today’s cowgirls are tearing down barriers, breaking records, influencing history, and paving a wide swath for future cowgirls to tread. But, the benefits cowgirls today enjoy would not have been imaginable had it not been for a courageous band of women who roughed it out in the early days of rodeo. And, that courage would have been fruitless if it weren’t for the leaders who have stepped forward to accept the WPRA’s baton year after year. Their refusal to take "no" for an answer serves to inspire future generations to recognize and then work to harness the potential of women in rodeo, today, tomorrow, and in the future.