-
Annie Oakley 1885
Contrary to what most people believe, Barrel Racing was not the beginning of women in rodeo. Where it all really began was in 1885 with Annie Oakley in the Buffalo Bill show. Annie was the very first female wild west star, and she helped open rodeos to women everywhere. -
1890-1920
The turn of the twentieth century was a sort of golden age for women in rodeo. As Mary Lou LeCompte highlights in her book Cowgirls of the Rodeo, from the late 1890s through the 1920s, cowgirls participated in North America’s most important rodeo competitions, like the Calgary Stampede (in Calgary, Alberta, Canada), the Pendleton Round-Up (in Pendleton, Oregon), and the World Series Rodeo in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. -
barrels started in 1928
Up until the mid 1920s, it was considered “unladylike” for women and girls to ride horses. It was permitted, but not many women rode horses. It had always been considered a thing for men and boys. However, that all changed around 1928. A sport called barrel racing was invented for WOMEN. The first ever sport for WOMEN on horseback. The goal for the horse and rider was to run through an alleyway or gate at full speed, make a right turn around a large metal barrel, then a left turn around the seco -
The starting of barrel racing in 1940
As a youngster growing up in the High Plains, specifically northeastern Colorado , there was no barrel racing as part of the annual local rodeos, or kid’s horse competitions during the 1940s. I saw my grandfather take my horse through the barrel racing paces at the local fair in the late 1940s. As I remember it, he loped my buckskin mare along at an unhurried pace. Not at all what we see when we watch the fast and furious event in today’s rodeo arena. -
WPRA was the first group of girl barrel racing
Barrel racing is a rodeo event that is primarily for women. it is thought that barrel racing began in 1948 and was invented by the WPRA. The WPRA was made up of a group of women from Texas and the sport has been modified to be a modern event. -
1948 and 38 cowgirls
As with most rodeo events, pinpointing barrel racing’s exact origin is near impossible. “It probably started out as pretty women on fast horses, but now it’s a competitive sport for serious athletes,” says Martha Josey, a world-champion barrel racer, Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Famer, and co-owner of Josey Ranch, a barrel-racing training center in Karnack. This spectator sport, dominated by women, dates back to at least 1948, when 38 cowgirls in San Angelo formed the Girls Rodeo Association in an -
1949 Barrel Racing became all about speed!
Originally, Barrel Racing was a women’s event and alternated between a figure-eight and clover leaf pattern. In the early 1930’s speed was not as much of a factor in the results as the rider’s outfit and horsemanship as demonstrated by maneuvering through the designated pattern. This was an event for women, while the men participated in the athletic rodeo events like roping and bull or bronco riding. By 1948 a group of women formed the GRA (Girl’s Rodeo Association) and in 1949 Barrel Racing bec -
Dale and Florence Youree have been barrel racing since 1950.
Florence is the 1966 All Around GRA (Now called the WPRA) World Champion. Florence was also the 1993 Coca-Cola Woman of the year for her contributions to the sport of rodeo. -
When the rodeos started and barrel racing began.
It was 1905 when the Millers offered to perform what they called a “round-up” or “buffalo chase” as an entertainment incentive for a National Editorial Association convention. Visitors were said to come to the ranch in 30 regular and special trains, and the crowd estimated at nearly 60,000 was thrilled to the exhibition of cowboys recreating real life ranch work from bronc riding and roping to Tom Mix’s debut as a roper and rider. -
1992 Cowgirl Honoree – New Mexico
With her horse, Scamper, Charmayne set an unprecedented record by winning the World Championship Barrel Racing title ten consecutive years. She was also the first barrel racer in rodeo history to win more money than any PRCA cowboy during a single rodeo season. Charmayne began barrel racing in New Mexico as a young girl, entering the pro rodeo circuit at fourteen. Charmayne trains her own horses for barrel racing, cutting and team roping competitions.
