Welcome to the Oklahoma Women’s Rodeo Archive, a digital history project in development at Oklahoma State University. Click on a community to learn more about the history of rodeo there.
This project studies women in rodeo from 1929 to 1949, a largely overlooked period due to the fact that women’s participation in rodeo was severely curtailed during that time. The archive contributes to the history of women in rodeo, women in the West, and women in sports. Cowgirls participated in professional rodeo before 1929 and after 1949 – during the years between they were almost always forbidden. It is our assumption, therefore, that these female athletes shifted to competing in amateur rodeo. The overall goal of this project is to organize and collect, digitally preserve, interpret, and share information about the culture, history, and lasting significance of the efforts of women in rodeo from 1929-1949.
Image: Segment of the map of Oklahoma, 1927. National Map Company. Dave Rumsey Map Collection
Womens Rodeo Archive 