Cowgirls of the Rodeo

Pioneer Professional Athletes
Author: Mary Lou LeCompte
Women's struggle to regain their place in rodeo
Paper – $30
978-0-252-06874-4
Publication Date
Paperback: 01/01/2000
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About the Book

Acclaimed as a foundational study of rodeo women, Cowgirls of the Rodeo surveys the early rodeo cowgirls' achievements as professional athletes. Mary Lou LeCompte follows the story through the near-demise of women's rodeo events during World War II and the phenomenal success of the Women's Professional Rodeo Association in regaining lost ground for rodeo cowgirls. Recalling an extraordinary chapter in women's history and the history of American sport, Cowgirls of the Rodeo deepens our understanding of the challenges facing women in the American West and in American sport.

About the Author

Mary Lou LeCompte was a charter member of the North American Society for Sport History and an associate professor of kinesiology and health education at the University of Texas at Austin.

Reviews

"Outstanding . . . A forceful and multilayered statement about women in American history."--Anne M. Butler, American Studies

"A first-rate work of scholarship."--Publishers Weekly

"The cowgirls in this book are not Dale Evans, Miss Kitty, or Audra Barkley. They are the real thing, and Mary Lou LeCompte's book is much more interesting for it."--Feminist Collections

"In an age when feminist discourse tends to be buttoned up and serious, Cowgirls of the Rodeo is a lively social history that captures the unbridled exhilaration of freedom."--Elizabeth Judd, Welcomat

"LeCompte raises interesting issues about the place of women in athletics and the experiences of women growing up on ranches. . . . An important addition to the history of the western United States."--Virginia S. Jenkins, American Studies International