Cowboy

:This article is about the cowboys and cowgirls of the Americas; for other uses see Cowboy (disambiguation) or Cowgirl (disambiguation).

Cowgirls

Although cowgirls share much with the cowboy, their history is somewhat different. There is no record of any girls or women driving cattle up the cattle trails of the Old West. Although many undoubtedly helped on the ranches, and in many cases ran them, few routinely dressed in the clothing suitable for working cattle from horseback.

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Charles Goodnight, however, did invent a side-saddle following the Civil War that allowed women to comfortably ride horses while fashionably dressed. The West was too vast for walking and too rough for carriages and buggies in many places. The traditional charras of Mexico ride such side-saddles today while exhibiting superb horsemanship in charreadas on both sides of the border.

Related Topics:
Charles Goodnight - Charreada

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It wasn't until the advent of the Wild West shows that cowgirls came into their own. Their riding, expert marksmanship, and trick roping entertained audiences around the world. By 1900, skirts split for riding came into design, freeing women to compete with the men in many events. In the movies that followed they expanded their roles in the popular culture and movie designers developed attractive clothing suitable for riding Western saddles.

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The growth of the rodeo brought about another type of cowgirl—the rodeo cowgirl. In the early Wild West shows and rodeos, women competed in all events, sometimes with the men. That changed after 1925 when Eastern promoters started staging indoor rodeos in places like Madison Square Garden. Women were generally excluded from the men's events and the women's events dropped. In today's rodeos, cowgirls compete mostly in the timed riding events such as barrel racing, and most professional rodeos do not offer as many women's events as men's events. Cowgirls seldom compete in the men’s events once they reach adulthood although several do compete in all events in high-school and college rodeos. Outside of the rodeo, cowgirls also compete in Western Pleasure Riding, Reining, and Endurance Riding competitions.

Related Topics:
Barrel racing - Reining

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Today's cowgirls have adapted cowboy clothing and riding techniques to suit their own needs. Seldom does today's cowgirl ride sidesaddle. A cowgirl may wear either a skirt cut so as to allow her to sit in the saddle, or jeans. If working on the ranch, where they perform most of the same chores as cowboys (and are seldom referred to as cowgirls), they generally dress to suit the situation.

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