Connie Douglas Reeves was believed to be America's oldest cowgirl.
The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneering fortitude. The museum is an educational resource with exhibits, a research library, and rare photography collection. It adds Honorees to its Hall of Fame annually.
Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, formerly the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA), is a non-profit organization based in Denver, Colorado, that promotes the benefits of therapeutic horseback riding and other equine-assisted activities and therapies for people with physical, emotional and learning disabilities. PATH Intl. serves people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life. They serve people with both physical challenges as well as those with mental challenges. Some examples of challenges participants face are multiple sclerosis, down syndrome, post traumatic stress disorder, autism and traumatic brain injuries. PATH Intl. is a 501(c)(3) organization.
Equine-assisted therapy (EAT) encompasses a range of treatments that involve activities with horses and other equines to promote human physical and mental health. Modern use of horses for mental health treatment dates to the 1990s. Systematic review of studies of EAT as applied to physical health date only to about 2007, and a lack of common terminology and standardization has caused problems with meta-analysis. Due to a lack of high-quality studies assessing the efficacy of equine-assisted therapies for mental health treatment, concerns have been raised that these therapies should not replace or divert resources from other evidence-based mental health therapies. The existing body of evidence does not justify the promotion and use of equine-related treatments for mental disorders.
Veryl Goodnight is a sculptor and since 2006 has been living in Mancos, Colorado. She is known for her equine sculpture - in particular a realistic depiction of horses, often in an American West context. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2016.
Sheila Varian was an American breeder of Arabian horses who lived and worked at the Varian Arabians Ranch near Arroyo Grande, California. She grew up with a strong interest in horses, and was mentored in horsemanship by Mary "Sid" Spencer, a local rancher and Morgan horse breeder who also introduced Varian to the vaquero or "Californio" tradition of western riding. She started her horse ranch, Varian Arabians, in 1954 with the assistance of her parents. Raising and training horses was her full-time occupation beginning in 1963. She used vaquero-influenced methods of training horses, although she adapted her technique over the years to fit the character of the Arabian horse, which she viewed as a horse breed requiring a smart yet gentle approach.
Martha Josey is an American professional rodeo cowgirl who specializes in barrel racing. She has been in active rodeo competition since 1964. She won the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) barrel racing world championship in 1980. She has earned numerous other titles at competitions such as the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) and events sanctioned by the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA), and WPRA. She also competed in barrel racing as an exhibition event during the 1988 Calgary Olympics, and is the founder and co-owner of the Josey Ranch Barrel Racing Clinic.
Tillie Baldwin, born Anna Mathilda Winger, was an American rodeo contestant and performer in Wild West shows. She is credited as being one of the first women to attempt steer wrestling.
Kathryn Hallowell "Kathy" Kusner is an American equestrian and Olympic medalist in show jumping. She was one of the first woman who rode for the United States Equestrian Team (USET), the first licensed female jockey, and the first American women to win an Olympic medal in equestrian competition.
Hinchinbrook Farm Society is a volunteer and non-profit organization for families of special needs children. The farm is located in Blockhouse, Nova Scotia and maintains standards set forth by the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA). Hinchinbrook Farm provides therapeutic riding to families with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by employing the "Horse Boy Method". The therapeutic riding program is one of four in Nova Scotia which is registered with the Nova Scotia Equestrian Federation.
Fern Sawyer was an American cowgirl, rodeo champion, politician and inductee into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame and the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. She was the first woman to win the cutting horse competition at the 1945 Fort Worth Fat Stock Show and Rodeo. Sawyer was also the first woman appointed to the New Mexico State Fair Board. She was well known for her "flashy attire," according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. She lived in Crossroads, Lovington, and Nogal, New Mexico. She was also a charter member of the National Cutting Horse Association and the first director of the Girls Rodeo Association.
Mollie Taylor Stevenson Scott, a former model, is the daughter of Benjamin Franklin "Big Ben" Stevenson and Mollie Stevenson (1911-2003). Mollie Jr. and her mother were the first living African-American women inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. She and her husband, Elicious Scott Jr., taught and connected children and adults with Western culture and agriculture.
Horses Healing Hearts (HHH) is a 501(c)3 charitable organization located in South Florida, United States. This psychoeducational program helps children whose parents suffer from the disease of addiction. While providing a safe and nurturing environment to build self-esteem and confidence by working with horses, HHH equips children with the tools to change their lives and break the generational cycle of addiction. It was founded in 2009 by Lizabeth Olszewski.
Wanda Harper Bush was an American professional rodeo cowgirl. She competed in the Girl's Rodeo Association (GRA), now known as the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), and won two barrel racing world championships, in 1952 and 1953. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1978 and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2017. The August 2017 induction ceremony was ProRodeo's 38th annual event, and marked the first time in the event's history that the class of inductees included barrel racers from the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA).
Pat North Ommert, in Bell, California, is a skilled rodeo trick rider. She performed as a stunt double in numerous films and toured the world with the Wild West shows through the 1940s and 60s.
Carol Rose is a champion horsewoman. She is a world-class show woman and breeder. She became a leader during a time when men dominated the field.
Mayisha Akbar established the Compton Junior Posse Youth Equestrian Program, an after-school program for inner-city children in Los Angeles, California.
Pamela "Pam" Minick is an American rodeo and western-lifestyle television personality.
Connie Griffith is a 2004 National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame inductee. Griffith was known for her trick riding ability.
Patricia E. Kelly is an African-American cowgirl, founder, and CEO of the non-profit organization Ebony Horsewomen, Inc, in Hartford. She is a trained equestrian instructor certified as Master Urban Riding and Equine Husbandry instructor as well as Equine Assisted Growth specialist.
