The modern cowgirl is not only alive and well, but is breaking generational and gender-related stereotypes. We speak to three women about their modern-day roles as cowgirls, from competing in rodeos to running sustainable ranches.
A younger me had always accepted the romance of Hollywood’s Westerns. I believed in the natives, the outlaws, the cowboys, the sweeping landscapes as characters in a story, and the beauty of women. As I grew, I came to understand that almost all storytelling of the past happened through a masculine perspective: the women who lived had fewer stories told about them, yet left words and wisdom behind. These women exist in those who continue their living legacies today – modern cowgirls – and I wanted to meet them.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, I find myself sitting in an unlikely place; the buoyant crowd of a rodeo. I’m at the Frost Bank Centre in San Antonio, Texas, at one of its annual highlights – the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.
Everyone around me is wearing cowboy boots without a hint of irony. Outside, there’s a carnival where a giant Ferris wheel is lifting screaming riders into the air before circling back down; families are trying their luck at fishing a ball out of a tank in return for a prize; and the pendulums of a Kamikaze ride are swinging high against the sky with the sounds of unadulterated joy. Livestock are being auctioned inside makeshift paddocks and thousands of people flow in and out of the Expo Hall as they shop for everything a wrangler could ever need: checked shirts, Stetsons, cowboy boots, buckled belts and turquoise-embellished silver jewellery.
Inside the arena, the crowd is erupting as they cheer cowgirls and cowboys, lean and agile, on the back of horses. This is a community event that pulls 1.3 million visitors and 6,000 volunteers each year; the San Antonio rodeo attracts the top cowboys and cowgirls from working ranches who, after several rounds of qualifiers, arrive here for the finals.
The women’s event I’m keen to see is breakaway roping. It begins with a calf being released into the dusty ground of the arena. A cowgirl, with a long brown braid falling to the middle of her back from under her hat, chases it on horseback and throws a lasso around its neck. The rider signals for the horse to stop, so that the lasso rope – originally attached to the horse’s saddle – breaks away and drags along the ground, ending the run. I look up at the scoreboard: 2.0 seconds. The rider is Erin Johnson, the three times Women’s Professional Rodeo Association World Champion Breakaway Roper. At that moment, the only thing I was certain of was that I would like to meet her. I sneak out of the arena and wait in the hallway as she finishes an interview with the Cowboy Channel.
Erin Johnson: The Breakaway Roping Champion
Her grey hat tipped slightly back, Johnson strides gracefully towards me with a smile that reaches all the way to her eyes. I congratulate her on a remarkable run. As she begins to speak, I note that her soft spokenness, despite her victorious qualifying round, is utterly endearing.
“This is a dream come true,” she says as we sit down in a quiet corner. “Until the National Finals Breakaway Roping in 2020, the only thing open for women to compete in was barrel racing. I’ve been roping my whole life but couldn’t compete because it wasn’t open to women. This is only my fifth year of competing. We are really grateful to the San Antonio Rodeo because it’s the first rodeo to offer equal prize money for women and men.”
Johnson lives on her ranch in Colarado with her husband and three children. In a life before rodeo, she was an accountant who grew up on the plains, surrounded by agriculture. Now, she spends a lot of her time on the road.
“Typically, rodeo cowgirls take their kids on the road during competition season. That is pretty much year-round if you qualify. Mine aren’t here today but they are usually back here during the competition,” she continues.
Carol M. Highsmith – Library of Congress Catalog: http://lccn.loc.gov/2014631385 Image download: https://cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/highsm/27100/27185a.tif Original url: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.27185
Like most women who navigate challenges to make their dreams come true, Johnson is paving the way for others. She is the founder of Show me the Ropes – a non-profit breakaway roping mentorship for women who aspire to compete at professional level.
“It’s not only about learning to be the best but also other things like how to navigate being on the road and keeping yourself safe,” adds Johnson.
We talk for a while longer, before she is led away to the next interview.
Jasmine: The Champion Cowgirl of Mexican Rodeo
Until 1836, Texas was a part of Mexico, and then a sovereign state (Republic of Texas) for a decade before it was annexed by the United States in 1845. While books record a complex history, southern Texas has retained a unique culture and traditions of its own. The most obvious of these is Tex-Mex; traditional Southern Texan cookery originating from when both Texas and Mexico were part of the same Spanish colony.
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo honours this history with regular Mexican-heritage rodeo events. So, I climb into the back of a golf cart and hitch a ride to meet the vaqueras (cowgirls) who are part of the charreada – a 16th century Mexican sport where charros (cowboys), often from the same extended family, travelled from one hacienda to another and competed on ranch work involving a mix of rodeo and roping skills.
We arrive at stables which serve as temporary quarters – for both horses and riders. Bales of hay lay stacked at the entrance, a stall serves as a kitchenette, pressed clothes hang neatly against furniture and a horse leans its head out from a nearby stall.
It is here that I’m introduced to 19-year-old Jasmine, a champion vaquera of Texas, as she walks by with her horse. “I became a vaquera (cowgirl) because my mother is one and my father is a charro (cowboy). I have been riding horses all my life and it’s the most natural thing to me,” she says.
“I’m also a barrel racer, but in Mexican culture cowgirls play a very traditional role. Mexican cowgirls always ride escaramuza (side saddle) and never do ranch work – such as roping – which is traditionally considered the work of men.”
Yet, escaramuzas use smoother bits (the component of the tack that controls the horse’s mouth) which requires a greater skill to manouver the horse. Their role is also historically important. The story goes that in battle, escaramuzas, wearing long colourful dresses, would ride ahead and run in circles to stir up as much dust as possible to confuse the approaching enemy.
Jasmine is dressed in a pristine white dress which reaches down to her ankles. The frilled, layered skirt is embroidered with orange, pink and blue flowers at the hem, and a wide electric blue ribbon is tied around her waist. Her white sombrero matches her dress, and her horse and saddle match the colours of her attire.
She smiles as she continues to talk about her life in the charreada. At 19 years-old, she seems unhurried and markedly at ease with competing and fame. Her father stands by quietly as we speak until we say our farewells and she glides away, leading her horse to the arena.
Deydra Steans: The Sustainable Rancher
“I love being called a cowgirl,” says Deydra Steans. “My grandmother was a cowgirl too. She used to tell me stories about riding horses and hunting small game. She grew up in the freedom colony of Zion Hill and only went to school until the 7th grade – but she could hunt game.”
Steans lives on S3Legacy Ranch, which is owned by her family. “A typical day for me is to wake up early, make coffee and have breakfast with my dad. We plan what needs to be done for the next few days. We are raising and cultivating cattle, so often we have to decide which cattle are ready for beef,” she explains.
With an undergraduate degree in criminology, Deydra had hoped to become a lawyer, but became a school teacher and volleyball coach until her father purchased the ranch in 2013. She now helps her dad look after the ranch. “I have to play a lot of roles. Bookkeeper, vet, and events manager amongst other things! Whatever requires my attention,” she says.
“The challenge here is the long droughts,” Deydra continues, “but we keep our cattle well fed and happy, and we sell our products under the Sankofa Food brand. People can buy directly from the ranch or at the farmers’ market in San Antonio.”
Besides running the ranch she makes time to help others interested in food production, cattle rearing and ranch management through Ranch Workshops where anyone can come and learn land tenure, sustainable grazing, livestock care, roping and cowboying as a profession.
Deydra extends an invitation to visit her ranch as we finish our conversation. In passing I mention that she seems happy and content with the life she lives. “Is there anything else you’d like to do? I ask. “Yes,” she replied, “I would love to compete in the rodeo.”
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