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In July of 1939, A. Martinez, found the remains of a woman's body the Rawlins, Wyoming coroner identified as that of Mrs. Charles Coleman an area rancher's wife. Bits of remaining clothing, some said a belt buckle, were used in the identification. Mrs. Coleman is better known by the name she used during her long and ditinguished career in Rodeo from the early 1900's until the late 1920's, Prairie Rose Henderson!
Prairie Rose had disappeared seven years prior to this during the only thing she was said to fear, a Wyoming blizzard!
Mrs. Clay Irwin Foster remembered Prairie Rose as a sixteen year old girl out of Chicago, IL. When she joined the Irwin Brother's Show she was a runaway from home and she suffered from bouts of depression.
Stories conflict depending upon what you read but since it makes a great story, whether accurate or not, I will share this with you.
It has been noted in some accounts that Prairie Rose appeared in Cheyenne at the "Frontier Days" in 1901 and having been egged on by the men contestants, she asked the officials to grant her a mount for the "Bucking Horse" contest. Being firmly told that the by-laws stated that only men were allowed to compete. Not to be discouraged, she asked to see those written by-laws. There were , of course, none to produce, where upon she insisted upon being granted entry! She, thus, may have been the first woman to ride a buckin' horse at Cheyenne! Bertha Kalpernik is officially recorded to have been the first, but since accounts vary we will perhaps never know for certain!
Milt Hinkle, a veteran rodeo hand, in his reminiscences, said he had witnessed Annie Schaffer, an Arkansas girl, on the back of a bronc in the Fort Smith, AK. Rodeo in 1896.
Many shows didn't keep officially kept records during this time and each Rodeo Company was pretty well indepentent during this period.
Prairie Rose was an accomplished bronc rider until the later 1920s. She was Rodeo Queen in 1910 at the "Pendleton Round-up" and she joined several wild west shows including the "Irwin Brothers". She lived for a time with Johnny Judd and in 1932 married Wyoming rancher Charlie Coleman. Their ranch was in the Green Mountain section northwest of Rawlins.
She was, however, first at some things we know are true. Being in dread of the clothing women of the day were forced to wear while riding she fashioned bloomers instead of skirts for herself and was quite creative in the overall design of the vests, blouses, etc. of her complete outfit! Bright colors were definately in! Ostrich overblouse with sequins and marabou feathers for trim! In later fashion trends the ladies wore bloomers, jodhurs as well as shorter fringed skirts. Boleros were also popular and bright colored scarves were used as the picture of Maggie Wright shows.
So successful was her appearance that others were soon asking her to fashion some for themand still others took to sewing their own. Thus we havea new trend for the American Cowboy dress! prior to this time the men had always worn white shirts to compete but Mabel Strickland went one step beyond Prairie Rose and made her husband Hugo a bright blue shirt! Of course, all the men then wanted one also!
This photo has been used many times over the years but few have known the cowboy’s name. It was taken in Wyoming in 1920, possibly at Rock Springs in the southwestern part of that state. The rider is Nels Roger Erickson, my grandfather. Nels came to the America at ten years of age in the early 1900’s emigrating from Sweden and the family ranch, homestead land, is still in the family and still a working cattle ranch!
Another local Rock Springs rancher, Jim Ramsey, was a buddy of Nels and they used to compete all over Wyoming at that time. They also had a friendly competition with one another but Nels really didn’t care much if he got high points, he competed against the horse, each new mount was a personal challenge to him! He was an excellent rider and stayed his mount, he just didn’t get as many points for the form rodeos use. He only missed going to Madison Gardens by one point one year. Rodeo was recreation for ranchers then they rode broncs in their daily lives, this was a chance to show their stuff!
Nels had long strong legs and he said that he never went riding without his buck strap tied to his saddle so any rough bronc was fair game!
For an organization that began with their home office being the trunk of the Linderman brothers, car and called by the unlikely name of the “Turtles” the sport has come a long way.
What is today known as the “PRCA” or “Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association” had very humble beginnings. Prior to the “Rodeo Cowboy’s Association”, “RCA”, being formed the cowboys united & formed an organization they called “The Cowboy Turtles Association” or CTA. So called because they said, “The cowboy was slow to start but sure to finish.”
As the popularity of rodeo grew there were good as well as bad aspects to the sport. It had become obvious that some organization must come into play but the cowboys themselves were kept busy just getting from one rodeo to the next & most did not have a business background so things came to be governed by those who were the managers & organizers of these events. This organization was known as the Rodeo Association of America or RAA.
Things were better in some respects but there were still times when the prize money just did not appear for the winning cowboys & towns were unhappy due to the fact that there were many “hangers on” who followed the rodeos just so they could party and raise Cain. Many were the hotel owners who had boarders leave town without paying for their room. Some of these were the contestants themselves down on their luck but most were these would be performers.
Many attempts were made such as "The Wild Bunch" but it was not until 1936 at Boston Gardens that things came to a head and the cowboys called a strike. The 61 original signers of the protest wanted more say for the contestants, standardized rules, among other issues. from this small beginning the CTA or "Cowboy Turtles Association"Came into existance. They elected their first Board of Directors November 6, 1936. Everett Bowman was elected 8 years in a row and they sought to keep it so the only cowboys allowed entering a competion were members of the CTA. This gave the cowboys some much needed leverage with the mainly management run RAA. It also effectively put a lid on the "hangers on".
In 1945 the CTA & the RAA both disbanded in favor of the Rodeo Cowboy’s Association or RCA & rodeo came in line with what we have today with the “PRCA” or Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association.
Sweeney & Erickson ranches Sweetwater Co. WY
Fox Hastings was the only woman "Bulldogger" ! her fastest time was 17 seconds, a record she set in 1924.
Born Eloise Fox, she ran away from a convent, her California home, at the young age of 14 to begin her career riding buckin' horses and "Trick Ridin'"! She joined "Irwin Brothers Wild West Show".
She married Paul Raymond, "Mike", Hastings (1891-1965), a Bulldogger and Steer Wrestler. After marrying Mike she dropped her first name , becoming Fox Hastings.
She made her Bulldogging debut at a 1924 rodeo in Houston, TX. Mike taught her Bulldogging also a very successful competitor. They were later to divorce.
"To the rodeo crowd she is Fox Hastings, cowgirl extraordinar. To neighbors, she is Mrs. Mike Hastings, a good cook, and tidy housekeeper." (Cowgirls, Savage p.73, quoting newspaper Story.)
Fox Hastings ans Mabel Strickland, were part of the husband and wife teams closely associated with "Fronier days".
Losing her second husband to a heart attack in 1948, two weeks later she took her own life.
Fox was one of the pioneers ladies of rodeo!
One of the most well liked rodeo competitors in his day; Robert Anderson Crosby was born to ranching parents from Midland, Texas, February 27, 1897. While still a youngster the family moved to a ranch near Kenna, New Mexico.
From a very young age a horse was his mode of transport whether it be school, work, or his faithful church attendance.
His love and knowledge of horsemanship led him to raise and train these animals throughout his life. Some of the roping and cutting Quarter Horses he owned were Reservation, Fiddleface, Junebug, Comet, Powder Horn, Bullet, Miss Aledo, Scarface, and Jelly Bean. He made his Cross B brand famous in his day!
Bob took up rodeo, as many did during these hard times, to add income to the family budget. His winnings at his first big contest were $2,300 in 1923 at Yankee Stadium, New York City, he was 26 years old. He was one of the original members of the CTA and first elected board member in 1936.
This fun loving cowboy was known for his famous old black hat, his "lucky hat", as well for winning and "retiring" the "Roosevelt Trophy." This award given for being the all-around cowboy award winner three separate years at the Pendleton, Oregon Round-up and “Cheyenne Frontier Days”. This award is documented in the picture I have painted of him in the Gallery Oils. He won in 1925, 1927, and 1928.
"Life" magazine did an article on him in which they called Bob "The King of the Cowboys."
Well known for his roping, 'Wild Horse Bob', won the calf roping at Madison Square Gardens three times; the steer roping at Cheyenne twice; and the steer roping at Pendleton four times, he was almost equally well known for competing with many severe injuries. At one time he worked on a leg that the doctors believed should have been amputated. Over his lifetime he suffered many other severe injuries but never let them take him out of competition. His death came at the
age of 50 in 1947 while on the way to his home. Killed instantly when the Jeep he was driving failed to negotiate the bridge across Acme Draw.
Bob was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of fame in 1966.
"The great Cheyenne Frontier Days was in it's fourth day. The year was 1924. Rose Smith was leading in the cowgirl's bronc riding contest and also looked like the winner in the cowgirl's trick riding contest.
"The cowgirl's bronc riding had already been run off for that afternoon and Rose had made an excellent ride, that looked like the best ride of the afternoon, one that would perhaps put her further in the lead for the finals of this event, and now the trick riding was starting.
"Rose, an absolutely fearless rider, had performed five difficult stunts upon the back of her dashing cowpony and was ready to make the sixth and final run of the afternoon contest.
"She headed her pony down the track and while it was running at breakneck speed attempted to leave the saddle, go down on one side of the horse, pass underneath the animal's body and regain the saddle from the opposite side, one of the most dangerous stunts known to trick riding.
"Rose went down on the side of the horse and under. The iron shod hooves barely missed her head as she crawled between the front and hind legs, and just as she grasped the strap on the side of the saddle and started to pull herself up to the saddle, the hind foot of the running cowpony struck her in the side.
"She toppled to the ground, the impetus of the blow causing her to roll over a time or two, and then she sprawled like a lifeless body in the dust of the track.
"She was removed from the track upon a stretcher and hurried to the first aid room while spectators were hoping that she was not fatally injured or crippled for life, and were saddened by the fact that she had suffered such an injury just when she had a chance to win one or perhaps two championship titles.
"The next and final day, when Rose Smith showed up on the grounds, rode her final bucking horse to a finish & won the cowgirl's bronc riding title, the spectators were surprised. But when it came to the trick riding, they were all wondering if she would try the same dangerous stunt in which she was injured the previous day.
"A hush settled down over the vast audience as Rose Smith turned her pony down the track for the sixth and final run. Yes, she was going under the horse again! She completed the stunt with lightening speed, and just as the applause burst forth from the spectators, she surprised both them and the judges by performing the stunt again with lightening rapidity, twice going under the horse in one run down the track for a little more than the length of the grandstand.
"It was the first time they had seen the trick done in double style. It clinched the championship title for her, and as she whirled from her horse, raced back, stopped in front of the grandstand and waved to the audience, an old cowhand who had been attending the Cheyenne show for years and who had seen champions come and go, turned away with the remark: 'If I have to go, I can die now--I've seen everything!' "
Author Unknown: Shared by Family of Rose Smith
Rose Smith was the wife of Oklahoma Curly Roberts.
I loved this picture of her and she is also very pretty in my latest soon available of the 7 Rodeo Gals!
The Cowgirls
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In the early 1900s one rodeo cowgirl stood out because of her natural beauty and charm, and her abilities to ride and rope. Newspaper accounts called Mabel De Long Strickland ‘the Lovely Lady of Rodeo’ and some said she looked more like a ‘Follies beauty’ than a champion cowgirl. Her features were delicate, her hair was always done in the most attractive style and her western clothing fit perfectly and was always of the most flattering styles.
Throughout her twenty-five year rodeo career she had the respect of all who knew her and later received honors from various Halls of Fame confirming her rodeo prowess.
Mabel De Long was born in 1897 in Lowden, near Walla Walla, Washington. Her father, a boot maker, introduced her to the world of rodeo very early. By the time she was in her teens she had become a natural horsewoman. She took lessons from Bill Donovan, a trick rider, and won the trick riding contest in Walla Walla three years in a row, 1913, 1914 and 1915. Her first major accomplishments were as a relay rider. She was very petite weighing around 98 pounds.
In 1918 Mabel married Hugh Strickland, 1916 and 1920 Saddle Bronc Champion. At first they settled on a farm near Mountain Home, Idaho, but soon found themselves in debt. They decided to go to a Round Up at nearby Twin Falls and see if they could win some money to help pay their debts. Hugh not only won, but was also arena director which paid, too. On the way home the saddle Hugh had won was sold to a young man for $250 and their debts were paid! They decided farming was not for them, rodeo was much more profitable, and proceeded down the rodeo road.
Mabel was not only a relay racer but one of the best trick riders of the day. Mabel was a very talented racer and never suffered a major injury. She also rode steers, broncs and husband, Hugh, taught her to rope steers and calves. They were quite a team, and both had the talent to win in a variety of events. At the beginning Hugh was not in favor of his wife competing against the men but later got a big kick out of it!
In 1926 the cover of the Cheyenne Frontier Days program was a photograph of Mabel Strickland riding a bronc of Mike Hastings’s named “Stranger”
(The only woman to ever be featured on the cover of the program; Art Oil Mabel Strickland 2 is the photo of her on Stranger).
Hugh Strickland enjoyed pitting Mabel against male steer ropers, and finally they encourage him to do contract exhibition steer roping.
It was no secret they were ‘tired’ of having Mabel as competition! She rode Buster, Hugh’s roping horse, for her trick riding performances. She did hippodrome stands, vaults, and even passed under the belly of the horse. In Cheyenne she won the 1922 and 1923 Ladies’ Relay Championship and the 1923 Ladies’ Saddle Bronc contest. In 1925 she roped and tied a steer in 24 seconds.
In the 1930s Mabel and Hugh Strickland went to Hollywood. She appeared in several western films with Yakima Canutt and “Rhythm on the Range” with Bing Crosby.
Hugh Strickland passed away in 1941. She and Hugh had one daughter, April, who became well known in her own right as an ice skater. Mabel eventually married Sam Woodward and moved to Buckeye, Arizona in 1948, where she became active in the state and national Appaloosa Horse Club. She was inducted in to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame, the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Hall of Fame, the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, the Pendleton Hall of Fame in 1972, the first lady to be so honored there, and the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame.
After a lengthy battle with cancer she passed away January 3, 1976 at 79 years of age.
Hugo Strickland was born on a stock ranch in a log house near the banks of the Bruneau Riverin 1894. These pictures of Mabel and Hugh are courtesy of the Strickland family. Hugh grew up working the ranch and one job included rounding up and catching wild horses for "The Horse Queen of Idaho", Kitty Wilkins whose thousands of horses roamed the surrounding area.This is where his roping and riding skills were developed.
He won the crown at Cheyenne in 1916 and several more times in the next ten years. In 1926 he was awarded the Ken Maynard Trophy as World Champion Bronc Rider.
Continueing to ride dispite doctor's orders. At the age of 53 in Saugus, California he passed away with a heart attack.
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Some Men in Rodeo
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Born in 1900 and raised on the family ranch near Belvidere, South Dakota . Earl grew up with a close relationship to bucking horses & earned money breaking them for his family and neighbors. The need to earn money caused him, as well as many other young men of that era, to look more closely at the competition of rodeo. Winners didn't make a lot of money but more than his present work did. Since he believed he could do well he entered a few small local contests, did well & decided to try his hand at one of the then top 10 Rodeos, at White River, South Dakota in1920.
My great Grandparents, the Klement Tomsiks owned the hotel in White River for many years & Grandma Van Schaack, Rose A. Tomsik, was a 16 year old girl that summer and she was at that rodeo and always followed Earl Thode's career because she had met him. As I began doing these pictures I was reminded of her mention of him to me years ago.
From his start in 1920 Earl went on to many other Rodeos and in 1927 decided he did well enough at Saddle Bronc and Steer wrestling to make it his career.
In 1929 Rodeo Association of America was formed by the producers and managers of the events. Up till then the scoring of contestants was set at each individual location. By their judges and no standards for the judging were for all Rodeos. Beginning in 1929 all rodeos that were members of the RAA were judged by the same rules so things were much more standardized and fair.
The RAA named their very first "All Around Cowboy" that year and Earl Thode took the prize! He did quite well placing high in most events he entered and in 1931 he won the Saddle Bronc title.
When he retired he had invested his winnings well in cattle and was able to buy his own ranch in Arizona.
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Johnie Schneider
"Was in the little town of Brentwood"
Was near the little town of Brentwood,
in1923.
We were headed for the rodeo,
Another kid and me.
It was six o'clock in the morning
The second day of July.
I thought I'd go to Livermore,
A bucking horse I'd try.
I didn't look much like a cowboy,
I'd been working on a farm.
I had no hat or chaps or boots
But my saddle was my charm;
I borrowed a set of rusty spurs
From another country lad.
I told him he had better come along,
I might not do so bad.
So we saddled up a work team,
A little bay and brown
And started out for Livermore,
The celebrating town.
We got to town quite early
Then when our horses had their care,
We thought that we would have a look around
To see what all was there.
So we walked all around the village,
Up the street and down;
I bet there were a hundred cowboys
Scattered about the town.
Wearing broadbrimmed hats,
Fancy boots and shirts.
Some wore silver mounted spurs,
Others carried quirts.
Whenever we'd meet a cowboy
Whether he was short or tall,
My friend would whisper,
"John you got no chance at all."
But I went down to headquarter,
Signed up and drew a mount
That had bucked off more good riders
Than what some cowboys could count.
The next day at the roundup
When it came my time to ride
The cowboys helped each other
But for me they stood aside.
And when I cinched my saddle
The boys gathered 'round
To see the little stranger
Come tumbling to the ground.
But I fooled all these punchers
When the snub-men jerked the blind
And that old mare went to bucking
And kicking high behind.
Those rusty spurs were raking,
The hair off of her side.
I tell you I was scratching,
That old mare high and wide.
I'll not have to say what happened,
Or what the judges said.
But we had a celebration
Before we went to bed.
Now there is one thing that I'm sure
When I go to Livermore;
The folks all know this cowboy,
I'm a stranger there no more.
The poem I share above was a copy Johnie gave his good friend and rodeo competitor Deb Copenhaver. The two men competed together many times.
Johnie was born on a ranch near Brentwood, California in 1904. In 1931 Johnie won All-Around National Champion. In his younger years he worked on several California ranches.
He competed at Livermore, Australia in 1923 and placed third in the Saddle Bronc Riding. During his career in rodeo he competed in, bronc riding, bareback events,bull riding, single and team roing, and buldogging. He was a champion in them all. Champion Bull Rider in 1929, '30, and '32; Champion Steer Decorator in 1931, '32, and '36; All Around Champion in 1931; Australian All-Around Champion in 1935 and '36; and the Hawaiian Islands Champion in 1939.
He stated that his most difficult horse was "Surprise" and the toughest bull "Old Number 4". He rodeoed steadily from 1923 for fifteen years then started tapering off until his retirement in 1941. Following his retirement from rodeo Johnie was brand inspector for many years near his home of Salinas, California. Upon his retirement from that position, after 22 years in 1969, he received a warm letter of praise from then Governor Ronald Reagan of California.
Besides the above poem he also wrote "Ode to Rodeo" and "The Black Beauty".
Johnie was elected into the "Cowboy Hall of Fame " in 1965
( Information from the "Natioal Cowboy Museumn" Oklahoma City, OK. as well as Deb Copenhaver)
William (Will, Bill) Pickett was a legendary cowboy from Taylor, Texas of black and Indian descent. He was born December 5, 1870, at the Jenks-Branch community on the Travis County line. He died April 2, 1932, near Ponca City, Ok.
From 1905 to 1931, the Miller brothers' 101 Ranch Wild West Show was one of the great shows in the tradition begun by William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody in 1883. The 101 Ranch Show introduced bulldogging (steer wrestling), an exciting rodeo event invented by Bill Pickett, one of the show's stars.
Riding his horse, Spradley, Pickett came alongside a Longhorn steer, dropped to the steer's head, twisted its head toward the sky, and bit its upper lip to get full control. Cow dogs of the Bulldog breed were known to bite the lips of cattle to subdue them. That's how Pickett's technique got the name "bulldogging." As the event became more popular among rodeo cowboys, the lip
biting became increasingly less popular until it disappeared from steer wrestling altogether. Bill Pickett, however, became an immortal rodeo cowboy, and his fame has grown since his death.
He died in 1932 as a result of injuries received from working horses at the 101 Ranch. His grave is on what is left of the 101 Ranch properties near Ponca City, Oklahoma. Pickett as inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1972 for his contribution to the sport.
Bill Pickett was the second of thirteen children born to Thomas Jefferson and Mary Virginia Elizabeth (Gilbert) Pickett, both of whom were former slaves. He began his career as a cowboy after completing the fifth grade. Bill soon began giving exhibitions of his roping, riding and bulldogging skills, passing a hat for donations.
By 1888, his family had moved to Taylor, Texas, and Bill performed in the town's first fair that year. He and his brothers started a horse-breaking business in Taylor, and Bill was a member of the National Guard and a deacon of the Baptist church.
In December 1890, Bill married Maggie Turner. Known by the nicknames "The Dusky Demon" and "The Bull-Dogger," Pickett gave exhibitions in Texas and throughout the West. His performance in 1904 at the Cheyenne Frontier Days (America's best-known rodeo) was considered extraordinary and spectacular.
He signed on with the 101 Ranch show in 1905, becoming a full-time ranch employee in 1907. The next year, he moved his wife and children to Oklahoma.
He later performed in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, and England, and became the first black cowboy movie star. Had he not been banned from competing with white rodeo contestants, Pickett might have become one of the greatest record-setters in his sport. He was often identified as an Indian, or some other ethnic background other than black, to be allowed to compete.
Bill Pickett died after being kicked in the head by a horse. In 1989, years after being honored by the National Rodeo Hall of Fame he was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy at Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Bibliography: Howard R. Lamar, ed., The Readers Encyclopedia of the American West. (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co, 1977) p. 1028.
Ron Tyler, ed., The New Handbook of Texas, Vol. 5 (Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association, 1996) pp. 190-91