Florence Youree (born April 19, 1933) is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowgirl. [1] She assisted in getting barrel racing into the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), which only had men's events at the time. [2]
Florence Youree was born Florence Johnson on April 19, 1933, in Duncan, Oklahoma. [1] Youree and her sister, Sherry Combs Johnson, grew up outside Addington, Oklahoma. They practiced musical chair races on horseback. When they discovered barrel racing, they started practicing right away. Florence married Dale Youree, a calf roper, in 1950. They went on the road and brought her sister along. She won the girl's all-around title in 1966. Her sister, Sherry, won the barrel racing world championship in 1962. Sherry's horse, Star Plaudit, was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Youree's granddaughter, Janae Ward, won the barrel racing world championship in 2003. [2]
Youree spent significant time promoting the sport of barrel racing. Under the hands of Youree and other women, it became a standardized event in rodeo. She also participated in bringing the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA) to a nationally-sized organization. Youree and her husband organized the Barrel Futurities of America, the Oklahoma Youth Rodeo Association, and the Youree Horsemanship Camps. [3]
Youree was the director of the GRA. From 1960 to 1964, she was the president. She was also the secretary-treasurer, from where she contributed the most. During this period, she spent time trying to get barrel racing included at the NFR. First, she presented the idea to the Rodeo Cowboys Association. They liked the idea, but they allowed it to be decided by the people in Oklahoma City. In the spring of 1967, Youree had wrangled meetings with Stan Draper and then Clem McSpadden, the general manager. This sealed the deal. [4]
As a competitor, Youree was in the top 15 six times. She won the all-around title in 1966. [4]
Youree was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1996. [3] She was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 2009. [5]
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 Girls Rodeo Association (GRA) barrel racing world championship in 1980 and was the last barrel racer to win a world championship under the organization's former name before it was renamed the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) in 1981. 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.
Charmayne James is an American former professional rodeo cowgirl who specialized in barrel racing. In her career, She won 11 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) barrel racing world championships, the most in history. She won ten consecutive world championships from 1984 to 1993, and then a final one in 2002. She qualified for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) 19 times and also won seven NFR barrel racing average titles in 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, and 2002. James retired her horse, Gills Bay Boy, nicknamed Scamper, whom she won the bulk of her titles with, in 1993 after winning her tenth world championship. James herself would retire from barrel racing in 2002 after winning her 11th world championship.
Sherry Cervi, is an American professional cowgirl who has won four world titles in barrel racing. Cervi won the barrel racing title at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 1995, 1999, 2010, and 2013. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2018.
Mary Burger is an American professional rodeo cowgirl who specializes in barrel racing. She has won two Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) barrel racing world championships in 2006 and 2016. Burger was 68 years old when she won the championship in 2016, setting a new record for oldest professional rodeo world champion in any rodeo event, male or female. She broke the existing record set by Ike Rude of 59 years old in steer roping set back in 1953. She also broke the record set by Mary Walker in 2012 at 53 years old. Also In 2016, she became the third WPRA barrel racer to wear the No. 1 back number at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). She set a new record for season earnings, and she set a new record by becoming the oldest WPRA qualifier to the NFR at 68 years old. Her horses, Mo and Fred, whom she used to win her titles with, she trained in barrel racing herself. In 2017, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
Jeanette Katherine Worthington, known as Jackie Worthington, was an American Cowgirl and founding member and former president of the Girls Rodeo Association, now the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA).
Mary Walker is an American former professional rodeo cowgirl who specialized in barrel racing. She won the Women's Professional Rodeo Association barrel racing world championship in 2012. Despite several traumatic events in the two preceding years, she persevered. She also became the oldest woman, at 53, in rodeo to win a world championship in the barrel racing event at the National Finals Rodeo. She was later surpassed by Mary Burger in 2016 when Burger won at age 68. She lost her only child to a car accident in 2011. Two months later, Latte, her horse, fell on her during competition and severely injured her. It was about a year and a half after these incidents that she won her world title. Walker was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2013.
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).
Kristie Peterson is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame barrel racer. She was inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame in 2020.
Jimmie Gibbs Munroe is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame barrel racer inductee in 2019. She is also the granddaughter of Zack Miller of the renowned Miller Brothers 101 Wild West Show. In addition, she also served in many positions on the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) and helped advanced many causes for women competitors.
Sammy Thurman Brackenbury, is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame barrel racer.
Billie McBride was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame for barrel racing in 2018. She won the barrel racing world championship title four times.
Mildred Farris is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee, who was inducted with her husband John.
Elenor "Sissy" Thurman, is a National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame 1975 inductee. She was also inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1978.
Sherry Combs Johnson was an American ProRodeo Hall of Fame barrel racer. In 1962, she won the barrel racing world championship at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Fort Worth, Texas.
Gail Petska is an American former professional rodeo cowgirl who specialized in barrel racing. She was a two-time barrel racing world champion. In December 1972 and 1973, she won the championship at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) at the State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Blanche Luela Altizer Smith was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1976.
Sharon Camarillo was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2006. She is a four-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier in barrel racing.
Margaret Owens was an American professional rodeo cowgirl. She was a two-time world champion barrel racer. In December 1948 and 1951, she won the world championship. She was the first world champion for the Girls Rodeo Association, now known as the Woman's Professional Rodeo Association.
Ann Lewis was an American barrel racer. In December 1968, she won the barrel racing world championship posthumously, becoming the youngest barrel racing champion in the Girls Rodeo Association.
French Flash Hawk, nicknamed Bozo, won four consecutive barrel racing champion champion titles with his owner, Kristie Peterson. He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2018. He was one of the mostly widely known rodeo animal athletes of his time.