Rodeo

Women have participated in the rodeo since it originated in the late 19th century. By the 1920s in the United States, women participated in many of the same events as men. However, women's opportunities in the rodeo decreased in the 1930s, and it was not until the rise of all-women's rodeos in the 1940s that the situation began to change. At that time, women formed their own organizations, and since the 1980s have worked to increase their participation and recognition in the rodeo.

Early rodeos included female riders in roughstock events like bronc riding. The Cheyenne Frontier Days, one of the most well-known competitions, did not specifically mention female contestants. Because of this, women were neither officially barred nor admitted. As such, women participated freely in ...