Rodeo Women of the 1800's

Most women of the 1800's learned to ride out of necessity from helping on the ranch and practicing the skills of the range. From an early age, women could stay in the saddle, break a bronc and rope a steer.

In the late 1800's, the younger horsewomen began competing against males in a yearly gathering of herds -which progressed into participating in rodeo's.
 
The first rodeos began in the mid-1800 when thousands of cattle and horses were driven to town for the yearly round-up. The cowboys were eager for relaxation and would compete in tests of skills like roping, breaking horses, branding cattle and racing.
 
Women of the 1800, however, were not recognized in the arena until 1885. The most famous cowgirl was Phoebe Ann Moses or Annie Oakley (pictured here).

Here are two stories of women who also helped start the movement of women in Rodeo's (Stories are from the book "Daughters of the West" by Anne Seagraves.)

In 1897, Bertha Kaelpernick Blancett (pictured above) rode over 100 miles to enter a horse race in Cheyenne's Frontier Days and she was allowed to enter only because the arena was so muddy the cowboys refused to participate. Bertha was coerced into riding a bucking horse to keep the crowd from leaving. Once upon the animal, the petite girl had the ride of her life. Part of the time the horse was up in the air on his hind feet and once he fell backwards, but gutsy Bertha skillfully slid to his side and hung on. Although it was said at that time, that Bertha was a terrible bucker, she had managed to remain in the saddle, putting the cowboys to shame.

Later in 1904 Bertha became a star performer in Claude William's show and was a four time winner in Roman Racing at Pendleton. Bertha rode under men's rules, was seldom defeated and often beat such cowboys as Ben Corbett and Hoot Gibson.

Four years later Prairie Rose Henderson, an exuberant and talented daughter of a Wyoming rancher, rode to Cheyenne to enter a bronc busting contest. When the lady arrived, she was told, much to her chagrin that women were not permitted to ride. When Rose demanded to see the rules, she found there was no clause forbidding women to compete, and the officials were forced to let her participate. Her entrance into the arena created a sensation. Women had always been spectators, not competitors, and Miss Henderson was a colorful person. She came dashing out of the chute hanging on with all her strength and promptly lost the race. Prairie Rose, however, was really a winner, for she had opened the door to rodeo for other women to follow.
 
Later, Rose went on to victory in other rodeos and became one of the most flamboyant cowgirls of her era. In 1918, she entered the Gordon Nebraska rodeo wearing ostrich plumes over her bloomers and a blouse covered with bright sequins she had carefully sewn herself.
 
Rose eventually married a rancher and one cloudy day in 1932, Rose rode off to her last competition. This time, she faced her greatest fear, a storm, and lost her life during a blizzard. Prairie Rose's body was discovered nine years later and identified only by her champion belt buckle.




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Wild West Shows of the 1800's

The origination of the Wild West Show derived from the interest shown by the east of the rough and wild western frontier. The real west was unknown to them, and they were willing to believe just about anything. The Easterners were enthralled by the west. The shows satisfied their cravings for adventure and allowed the show goers to be apart of the thrill and danger of the West without actually taking the treacherous move there. The Wild West shows preserved the disappearing world of the unsettled and untamed west and brought it to life for audiences.

The Wild West shows were a winning combination of history, patriotism, and adventure. The shows managed to create an enduring spirit of the unsettled west and capture audience’s hearts throughout America and even Europe.

Over time, there were various different Wild West shows. After the first Wild West show was born, dozens of others shortly followed in its wake. Various people, with flamboyant names, such as Dr W.F. Carver, Pawnee Bill, Buckskin Joe, and Mexican Joe began their own unique shows. Women also tried their hand in the business, with names headlining as Luella-Forepaugh Fish and the Kemp Sisters. But out of all the shows, the first, most famous, and by far most successful of all was Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.


William Frederick Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, can be credited with helping to create and preserve a lasting legend of the West. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show took the reality of western life and glamorized it into an appealing show. The Wild West shows permanently preserved the legend of the Wild West.


Buffalo Bill was born William Frederick Cody on February 26, 1846. He lived until January 10, 1917. Cody grew up on the frontier and loved his way of life. As he got older, some of his titles he earned included buffalo hunter, U.S. army scout and guide, showman, as well as Pony Express Rider, Indian fighter, and even author.

His track of fame began with his reputation as a master buffalo hunter. While hunting buffalo for pay, to feed railroad workers, he shot and killed 11 out of 12 buffalo, earning him his nickname and show name “Buffalo Bill.” As an army scout, Cody extended his fame by gaining a reputation for bravery. As a well-known scout, he often led rich men from the East and Europe and even royalty on hunting trips. Cody’s fame began to spread to the East when an author, Ned Buntline caught wind of him and wrote a dime novel about Buffalo Bill, called “Buffalo Bill, the King of Border Men”. To top it all off, Buntline’s novel was turned into a theatrical production, which greatly contributed to his success and popularity in the east.

Before long, Cody ended up starring as himself in Buntline’s play. Soon after, he started his own theatrical troop. It wasn’t until 1883 when Cody first got his idea for a Wild West Show.

Cody did not want to see his way of life vanish without remembrance. The idea started in his hometown of North Platte, Nebraska. In 1882 he convinced the town to sponsor an “old Glory Blowout” each 4th of July. Events included were a rodeo competition and horseback exhibits. All this provided the idea for his famous Wild West Show.

In creating the Wild West Show, Cody also created the myth of the adventuresome, exciting, and outright wild western frontier. Cody helped pitch-in to give the West its image as we see it today. The shows consisted of reenactments of history combined with displays of showmanship, sharp-shooting, hunts, racing, or rodeo style events. His shows promoted the simple formulas of good vs evil and civilization against barbarism.



Each show was 3–4 hours long and attracted crowds of thousands of people daily. The show began with a parade on horseback. The parade was a major ordeal, an affair that involved huge public crowds and many performers, including the Congress of Rough Riders. The Congress of Rough Riders was composed of marksman from around the world, including the future President Theodore Roosevelt, who marched through the parade on horseback.


Among the composition of the show were “historical” scenes. The exact scenes changed over time, but were either portrayed as a ‘typical’ event such as the early settlers defending a homestead, a wagon train crossing the plains, or a more specific event such as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. In both types of events, Buffalo Bill used his poetic license to both glorify himself or others while heightening the villainous mischievousness of the “bad guys” (outlaws or Indians) and to embellish each situation for theatrical enhancement. “Typical” events included acts known as Bison Hunt, Train Robbery, Indian War Battle Reenactment, and the usual grand finale of the show, Attack on the Burning Cabin, in which Indians attacked a settler’s cabin and were repulsed by Buffalo Bill, cowboys, and Mexicans.

A more specific historical event in the show might have been a reenactment of the Battle of Little Bighorn also known as “Custer’s Last Stand”. This event was made into a famous act performed in the show, with Buck Taylor starring as General George Armstrong Custer. In this battle, Custer and all men under his direct command were killed. After Custer is dead, Buffalo Bill rides in, the hero, but he is too late. He avenges Custer by killing and scalping Yellow Hair (also called Yellowhand), which he called the “first scalp for Custer”. This reenactment is exciting for the audience and also stresses that if Buffalo Bill rode in on time, Custer and his men may have been saved.

Shooting competitions and displays of marksmanship were commonly a part of the program. Great feats of skill were shown off using rifles, shotguns, and revolvers. Most people in the show were all good marksmen but many were experts. Buffalo Bill himself was an excellent marksman. It was said that nobody could top him shooting a rifle off the back of a moving horse.

(picture above, L to R: Elisha Greene, Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, Texas Jack Omhundro, Eugene Overton in "Journal of the West," (p.62))

Animals also did their share in the show through rodeo entertainment. In the rodeo events, cowboys like Lee Martin would try to rope and ride broncos. Broncos are unbroken horses that tend to throw or buck their riders. Other wild animals they would attempt to ride or deal with were mules, buffalo, Texas steers, elk, deer, bears, and moose. Some notable cowboys who participated in the events were Buck Taylor (dubbed “The First Cowboy King”), Bronco Bill, James Lawson ("The Roper"), Bill Bullock, Tim Clayton, Coyote Bill, and Bridle Bill.

Races were another form of entertainment employed in the Wild West Show. Many different races were held, including those between cowboys, Mexicans, and Indians. A 100 yd foot race between Indian and Indian pony, a race between Sioux boys on bareback Indian ponies, races between Mexican thoroughbreds, and even a race between Lady Riders.

All in all, the show had a pretty big entourage. It contained as many as 1200 performers at one time (cowboys, scouts, Indians, military, Mexicans, and men from other heritages), and a large number of many animals including buffalo and Texas Longhorns. Performers in the show were often popular celebrities of the day.

Some of the recognizably famous men who took part in the show were Will Rogers, Tom Mix, Pawnee Bill, James Lawson, Bill Pickett, Jess Willard, Mexican Joe, Capt. Adam Bogardus, Buck Taylor, and Antonio Esquibel. Even more famous were Wild Bill Hickock and Johnny Baker.

Wild Bill Hickock was well known as a gunfighter, marshal and was an established dime novel hero, like Buffalo Bill. His name on the playbill gave a great draw of audiences because they knew him from dime-novels, and he was a genuine scout.

Johnny Baker was nicknamed the “Cowboy Kid” and considered to be Annie Oakley’s boy counterpart. Cody originally took him on in the show mainly because he would have been the same age as his own dead son, but little Johnny Baker turned out to be a great success, was very skilled and ended up becoming the arena director.

The list of famous Wild West Show participants was not limited to men. Women were also a large part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and attracted many spectators. In fact Annie Oakley, one of the show’s star attractions was a woman. Born Phoebe Ann Moses, Oakley first gained recognition as a sharpshooter when she defeated Frank Butler, a pro marksman are age 15 in a shooting exhibition. She became the star attraction of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for 16 years, under the management of Frank Butler, whom she ended up marrying. Annie was billed in the show as “Miss Annie Oakley, the Peerless Lady Wing-Shot”. She was also nicknamed “Little Sure Shot” by Chief Sitting Bull, who was also in the show. Annie was renowned for her trick shots. Annie was able to, from 30 paces, split the edge of a playing card, hit center of ace of spades, shoot down a playing card tossed in air, shatter glass balls thrown in air, hit dimes held between Butler’s fingers, shoot an apple out of poodle’s mouth and shoot off the butt of cigarette from Butler’s mouth. She also performed the last trick shooting the cigarette out of Crown Prince Wilhelm’s mouth in Berlin. Her most famous trick was a mirror trick in which she hit a target behind her shooting backwards using a mirror for aim. These incredible feats of marksmanship amazed and excited people and she generated huge audiences eager to see the display

Calamity Jane (or Martha Cannary) was another distinguished woman participant of the show. Calamity Jane was a notorious frontierswoman who was the subject of many wild stories- many of which she made up herself. In the show, she was a skilled horsewoman and expert rifle and revolver handler. Calamity Jane appeared in Wild West shows until 1902, when she was reportedly fired for drinking and fighting.


Buffalo’s Bill’s Wild West Show continued to captivate audiences and tour annually for a total of 30 years (1883-1913). After opening on May 19, 1883 in Omaha, Nebraska, the show was on what seemed to be a perpetual tour all over the east of America. The show “hopped the pond” in 1887 when Queen Victoria requested the presence of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show at her Golden Jubilee in 1887 at Windsor Castle, in England. The whole troop including 200 passengers plus 97 Natives, 18 buffalo, 181 horses, 10 elk, 4 donkeys, 5 longhorns (Texas steers), 2 deer, 10 mules, and the deadwood concord stagecoach crossed the Atlantic on several ships. They then toured England for the next six months and the following year returned to tour Europe until 1892. With his tour in Europe, Buffalo Bill established the myth of the American West overseas as well. To some Europeans, the Wild West show not only represented the west, but all of America. He also created the cowboy as an American icon. He gave the people of England, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany a taste of the wild and romantic west

In 1893 the show performed at the Chicago World’s Fair to a crowd of 18,000. This performance was a huge contributor to the show’s popularity. The show never again did as well as it did that year. The economy and disasters in the south grew too much for the Wild West Show. In 1913 the show was declared bankrupt. Cody was forced to take his tents down for the last time.


Wild West shows have created a lasting image in American history of the American West. Buffalo Bill and the Wild West Shows crafted today’s representation of the West. They were the exaggeration of the reality of the American West, which made it all the more exciting. They have preserved, however accurately, stories of battle and history of the American West. The shows commemorate the settlers and unique attributes and characters of the time period. The legend left behind by the Wild West shows gives tribute to the remarkable period of history of the frontier movement, and beautifully captures the eternal spirit of the Wild West.



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Barrel Racing History

Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to complete a clover-leaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. (Typically three fifty-five gallon metal or plastic drums) It combines the horse's athletic ability and the horsemanship skills of a rider in order to safely and successfully maneuver a horse through the pattern.

Though both boys and girls compete at the youth level and men compete in some amateur venues, in collegiate and professional ranks, it is primarily a rodeo event for women. In the 1900’s when the women began to compete in the rodeo’s they excelled at horse racing, trick riding and relay. Their weight was an advantage and, due to their gentler nature, the females seemed to have a closer kinship with the horses.

The History
(By Gail Hughbanks Woerner)

Faye Blackstone (pictured here) began her trick riding career in the 1930s, but when specialty acts began being replaced Faye turned her great horsemanship talents to barrel racing. She and a few other cowgirls began the barrel racing event in Florida in 1950. Dixie Reger Mosley(the last picture on the page) began her rodeo career at age 5 ½ years old, trick riding on a Shetland pony. Growing up in a rodeo family gave her many varied opportunities, including some rodeo clowning. When the Girl’s Rodeo Association (GRA) began in 1948, which turned in to the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) in 1981, Dixie was the bullfighter, rodeo clown, and competed in most events, except bull riding. She saw barrel racing evolve through the GRA organization to become an event for women that today offers purses that compete with the Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association (PRCA) event purses.

Barrel racing was first seen in Texas , according to Faye Blackstone, and spread from there. Although women had been competing in rodeo, in various ways, since the 1880s, when Buffalo Bill Cody, hired Annie Oakley (pictured below), the best known woman gun handler of the day. Cody discovered that fans would flock to his wild west shows to see her perform. But the decision to include women bronc riders, relay race riders, and so on, was always at the discretion of the men producing the event.

The 1931 Stamford, Texas, Cowboy Reunion, a weekend rodeo, decided to add girls, sixteen years and older, that were sponsored by area businesses and represented the community from which they came. The girls would lead the parade, participate in various minor rodeo activities and be available to visit and dance with the cowboys at the social events held each evening. The following year the young ladies were given prizes for (1) the best mount, (2) most attractive riding outfit, and (3) best horsemanship. The horsemanship was demonstrated by riding in a figure eight around barrels. In 1935 the Stamford event changed the barrel racing to a cloverleaf pattern, but it was not judged strictly by the shortest time until 1949.

The Cowboys Amateur Association (CAA) organized in 1940, and held rodeos where the contestant could compete on the amateur level until they had won $500. They could then join the ‘professional’ rodeo organization, should they choose to do so. The CAA held competitions for women, as well as men, which included barrel racing, cutting horse contests, bronc riding and a roping event. They also offered money as prizes instead of feminine gifts, such as make-up cases and hair products, which were the general prizes offered previously.

There was a flurry of “all girl rodeos” during World War II. They were highly successful, but when the war was over and the men came home things went back to the way they had been before the war, that meant few rodeo competitions for women.

Mildred Farris, barrel racing pioneer, whose competitive years spanned the 1950s until 1971, and was a Girl’s Rodeo Association director, vice-president and president from 1965 to 1971, remembers the days when she and others in her era were trying to get barrel racing included at rodeos across the country. “I worked for the rodeo producer, Tommy Steiner, as a rodeo secretary and he always had barrel races at his rodeos. I think that the barrel racing event, in the beginning, often took the place of contract acts, that had been such an important part of rodeos in earlier days. The girls in the barrel racing event, in our day, always wore more colorful, flashy clothes, much like the contract performers. Steiner was the first producer to use the electric eye in timing the barrel racing event. It must have been in the 1960s,” Farris recalled. She also said that in those days the prizes for barrel racing were not comparable to the men’s events. If the men’s bronc riding or roping paid $400 to win, the barrel racing paid around $100 to the winner. She is quite proud to say that in today’s rodeo the WPRA-sanctioned barrel racing events pay comparable monies to the PRCA-sanctioned events, such as bronc riding, roping competitions, etc.

Farris reminisced about her first barrel racing horse. She bought a ‘spoiled’ roping horse. He was ‘high-headed’ and it was impossible to use a tie down on him. But when he started running he would put his head down and he handled well. “The first barrel race I entered with him was an amateur rodeo and I had only run him a few times. At the last minute they decided to change the pattern and run to the first barrel, then to the third barrel, (the farthest away), and back to the second barrel. In spite of the fact he’d not run this pattern before we finished second. That night I practiced this new pattern with him and the second performance we finished first.” Farris was one of the top fifteen barrel racers in the United States for twelve years, 1958 through 1970, only missing 1965. She was also voted Rodeo Secretary of the Year by PRCA nine times, with the most recent honor given to her in 2006. She was inducted, with husband, John, in to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2006.


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Women of Rodeo in the 1800's

Most women of the 1800's learned to ride out of necessity from helping on the ranch and practicing the skills of the range. From an early age, women could stay in the saddle, break a bronc and rope a steer.

In the late 1800's, the younger horsewomen began competing against males in a yearly gathering of herds -which progressed into participating in rodeo's.

The first rodeos began in the mid-1800 when thousands of cattle and horses were driven to town for the yearly round-up. The cowboys were eager for relaxation and would compete in tests of skills like roping, breaking horses, branding cattle and racing.

Women of the 1800, however, were not recognized in the arena until 1885.

The most famous cowgirl was Phoebe Ann Moses or Annie Oakley (pictured here).

Here are two stories of women who also helped start the movement of women in Rodeo's

(Stories are from the book "Daughters of the West" by Anne Seagraves.)

In 1897, Bertha Kaelpernick Blancett (pictured above) rode over 100 miles to enter a horse race in Cheyenne's Frontier Days and she was allowed to enter only because the arena was so muddy the cowboys refused to participate. Bertha was coerced into riding a bucking horse to keep the crowd from leaving. Once upon the animal, the petite girl had the ride of her life. Part of the time the horse was up in the air on his hind feet and once he fell backwards, but gutsy Bertha skillfully slid to his side and hung on. Although it was said at that time, that Bertha was a terrible bucker, she had managed to remain in the saddle, putting the cowboys to shame.

Later in 1904 Bertha became a star performer in Claude William's show and was a four time winner in Roman Racing at Pendleton. Bertha rode under men's rules, was seldom defeated and often beat such cowboys as Ben Corbett and Hoot Gibson.

Four years later Prairie Rose Henderson, an exuberant and talented daughter of a Wyoming rancher, rode to Cheyenne to enter a bronc busting contest. When the lady arrived, she was told, much to her chagrin that women were not permitted to ride. When Rose demanded to see the rules, she found there was no clause forbidding women to compete, and the officials were forced to let her participate. Her entrance into the arena created a sensation. Women had always been spectators, not competitors, and Miss Henderson was a colorful person. She came dashing out of the chute hanging on with all her strength and promptly lost the race. Prairie Rose, however, was really a winner, for she had opened the door to rodeo for other women to follow.

Later, Rose went on to victory in other rodeos and became one of the most flamboyant cowgirls of her era. In 1918, she entered the Gordon Nebraska rodeo wearing ostrich plumes over her bloomers and a blouse covered with bright sequins she had carefully sewn herself.

Rose eventually married a rancher and one cloudy day in 1932, Rose rode off to her last competition. This time, she faced her greatest fear, a storm, and lost her life during a blizzard. Prairie Rose's body was discovered nine years later and identified only by her champion belt buckle.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site