From Barrels to Breakaway: Let the Cowgirls In

It’s NFR week. Viewing parties and celebrations abound as rodeo fans across the nation relive their glory or unrealized dreams through the drama that unfolds within the famous Thomas & Mack Center  in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are parts of the NFR you can rely on: the red, white, and black back numbers, the finest stock in the country, and the toughest competitors. But the event has faced obstacles and opportunities since its inception in 1959 as the championship event for the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association.

  This year the main challenge has been the sudden viral outbreak a few weeks prior to the NFR and decisions about ways to keep horses healthy and prevent the spread of the virus. 

Precautions are visibly in place and yet there is another ongoing struggle that has taken a back seat after previous press. 

 The issue is simple: officials have been unwilling to add breakaway roping as an event at the NFR. Putting women’s breakaway roping in the Thomas and Mack arena would not only provide next level opportunities for the cowgirls themselves, but it would be a powerful symbolic gesture of equal opportunity for these cowgirls. Most recently the breakaway roping has been held as a separate event known as the National Finals Breakaway Roping just down the road in Las Vegas. This year it will be held in Ft. Worth, Texas, at Cowtown Coliseum, further distancing the women from their cowboy colleagues. The pleas to add breakaway seem to be falling on deaf ears.

   Interestingly, this is not an entirely new issue. In fact, when the NFR first started, it was a men's only event. It was not until 1967 that barrel racing was listed as a sanctioned event on the program and included. Having barrel racing at the NFR gave women the opportunity to compete on the highest stage and gain championship titles equal to what the men were receiving. It also greatly strengthened the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association (WPRA), the main organization for professional barrel racers. The WPRA was founded as the Girls Rodeo Association in 1948 and was constantly trying to help women gain greater opportunities in the rodeo world, and in turn greater access to prize money. 

   Organizations like the WPRA have been invaluable in supporting women, but they are only as good as the leaders within them. Cowgirls have always been a dynamic group, willing to lead the charge and fight for their beliefs. History proves this with women such as Fannie Sperry riding broncs at rodeos out west in the early 1910s. Fannie Sperry was a Montana cowgirl who broke tradition by riding a bronc “slick” with no hobbles and wearing a divided skirt. In fact, while competing at the Calgary Stampede in 1912 she won the title of Lady Bucking Horse Champion of the World. 

  The courage of women like her who were willing to go against the grain has paved the way for the opportunities women have now and continues to ignite the flame of desire to work for greater moments still.

  Would Fannie Sperry have imagined that over 100 years later some women would still be fighting for their right to compete for big titles at the most prestigious rodeo event of our time? Perhaps instead she would have simply climbed over the yellow chutes and said, “let me show you how it’s done boys!”