“Let er’ buck gals
Grab some mane and tear some hair
Let er’ buck gals
This one ain’t getting anywhere
Let er’ buck gals
This life ain’t dead yet
Let er’ buck gals
Just spur em’ in the neck”
-100 Pounds 💕
I remember the first time I saw the old black and white pictures of Prairie Rose Henderson, Vera McGinnis and Bonnie McCarroll. I had “borrowed” (IE taken without asking, whoops) my sister’s copy of “Cowgirls: Women of the American West” by Teresa Jordan, and the stories about the women who spurred buckin ponies at Cheyenne Frontier Days, Pendleton Round Up and Madison Square Garden thrilled me to the core.
These lil ladies were seated up on a these big ol’ broncs, just spurring and quirting the sin out of em…all with big silk bows in their hair.
I was hooked.
Researching the images, few books at the time and tracking down first account stories about the little women with the big hearts taught me more than expected. I tried to follow in their footsteps, and although it turned out (much to my mother’s joy) I’m better suited to writing than riding broncs in the long term….there was a lot to be learned in the history these women.
Who they were and what they can still teach to us today resonates through time, and this is my lil tribute to those old time gals.
Here’s to the gals who can’t be tamed!
xoxo
AB
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