Western Women on the Rise
Women's suffrage swept the United States in the early 20th century, culminating with the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which granted American women the right to vote.
Photo by Kaycie Timm
Although that movement may seem like ancient history in the modern world, there’s a similar surge happening today for women in rodeo. Not many years ago, the only opportunity for Western women on a national stage was to serve as flag girls or rodeo royalty. Those esteemed roles still hold great value in our industry, but cowgirls are capable of so much more—and they’ve been busy fighting for representation they deserve.
cowgirls making strides
In 1967, barrel racing was officially added to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR), marking the debut of a women’s event at the Super Bowl of rodeo.
In 2020, the NFR added the National Finals Breakaway Roping (NFBR), an opportunity for breakaway ropers to join the NFR action. Although payouts remain smaller than that of other NFR events, the best cowgirls have shown up and shown out, breaking records with their ropes to earn NFBR titles.
Photo by Kaycie Timm
Over the last five years, the number of rodeos that include breakaway roping has grown by 1,400%, with more than 500 PRCA rodeos hosting the sport in 2024. That growth is evidence of the increasing demand of opportunities for cowgirls.
New Opportunities
As breakaway roping gains popularity, other organizations have stepped up to offer increased payout opportunities for female athletes.
The Women's Rodeo World Championship (WRWC), an event founded in 2020, invites top female athletes in breakaway roping, team roping, and barrel racing to compete for world titles. With more than $750,000 in payout at their 2024 event, the WRWC is the largest annual purse for a women’s rodeo event.
Photo by Kaycie Timm
This year, another new event, the Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway, will pay a total of $1,000,000 to breakaway ropers. Their inaugural event, held November 27-30 in Scottsdale, Arizona, invites the top 10 breakaway ropers, based on world standings, plus 15 qualifiers to compete in a 10 round finals.
WSF Steps Up
While WSF services have always been offered to both male and female Western athletes, the foundation has recently served as a resource for even more women. In 2023, 42% of all service applications received were submitted by female athletes. This year, female athletes accounted for 66% of submissions.
As we look to the future, we believe there’s no where to go but up for the cowgirls. WSF is proud to support female athletes both in and out of the arena.
To find out more about the services available for all Western athletes, click here.