Cowgirl Bonnie McCarroll is thrown from a horse named Silver during a bucking contest at Pendleton Round-Up. After the Round-Up started in 1910, cowgirls were stars until McCarroll was killed in a bronc-riding accident in 1929. Photographer: Walter S. Bowman, September 1915.
The Oregon Historical Society. #94089
Each week Oregon Experience shares a photo highlighting the state’s diverse, exciting history.
In the early days of the Pendleton Round-Up women were fierce competitors, participating in women only events as well as coed. Bonnie McCarroll was a popular and repeat competitor at Round-Up. At the time, the rules required women to ride their horses with the stirrups tied together, supposedly to make it easier for women to ride. In 1929 this dangerous practice caused McCarroll to be thrown from her horse and killed.
Watch the Oregon Experience documentary “The Wild West Way” to learn more about the early cowgirls of the Pendleton Round-Up. This year's Round-Up starts this week -- a unique Oregon event that's still going strong after more than a century.
This series is in partnership with The Oregon Historical Society