These cowgirls wanted to add a splash of color and femininity to the rough–and–tumble sport of rodeo, and they did just that-all while keeping the same competitive pace as the cowboys they rode beside.
The goal: to create an organization dedicated to the promotion and advancement of women in the sport of rodeo. The WPRA-the oldest women’s sports association in the United States and the only one governed entirely by women-was formed in 1948 when its 38 founding mothers, all ranch women, came together in San Angelo, Texas. While many rodeo fans associate the event of barrel racing with “pretty women on fast horses,” the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) as it became known in 1981, proves these cowgirls have exactly what it takes to own the arena. In a sport dominated by men, the cowboys’ female counterparts often get lost in the shuffle. These women founded the Girl’s Rodeo Association (GRA), and the rodeo world was never the same again. M ore than a half–century ago, 38 cowgirls, frustrated by the lack of opportunities for women in the rodeo universe, banded together in a way that only true cowgirls can, and created a solution for the problem they faced.
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