12/03/07 Early cowgirls

Just like the songs says, " My hero's have always been cowboys" I'm Jeff Keane and I will be back after a quick break. COMMERCIAL My Hero's have always been cowboys but that doesn't necessarily hold true for my co-host Susan Allen. There are a lot of cowboys that I admire but I would have changed the words in old Willy's song to "my hero's have always been "cowgirls" because I am simply amazed at the accomplishment of the early cowgirls like Bonnie McCarrol, Mabel Strickland and others. Most likely they were our first professional women athletes! During the early 1900's to the 30's, (the golden era of rodeo) women competitors could earn a living competing in the rough stock and roping events, often wearing skirts. Bonnie Mc Carroll was a champion bronc rider winning at Madison Square Gardens in 1922, Yankee Stadium and London the following years. The beginning of the end of cow girl rough stock competition at sanctioned rodeos occurred at the 1929 Pendleton Roundup where Bonnie was trampled to death by a bronc. In response to her death the Round-up Board prohibited girls from bronc riding, and other rodeos followed suit. The term "cowgirl" actually came from Lucy Mulhall a top roper who appeared with Will Rogers. Feminine yet aggressive, reporters were baffled by what to call Lucille, some dubbed her the "Lassoer in Lingerie". Now that would be a crowd pleaser! After one paper called her a "cow girl" the name stuck. I don't know for sure if these early cow girls were our first female pro-athletes, one thing is for certain &. They were the first women to compete in extreme sports.