Wyoming Cowgirls Series Part 1
- January 17, 2018
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- Tiffany Schwenke
Posted in: Featured, Ranch Life
Wyoming has two things it’s know for… The Equality State for being the first place to allow women to vote and The Cowboy State… well because Wyoming is a state full of vast ranchlands and the cowboys that work them.
The U.S. Mint’s bicentennial commemorative quarter for Wyoming features the state nickname, The Equality State, and the outline of a cowboy on a bucking bronc. The bucking horse & rider emblem is the official registered trademark of Wyoming, and rodeo is the state sport. The University of Wyoming’s mascot is even a cowboy!
WY Coin
In 1869 Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote. This action lead to the nickname, The Suffrage State and then later The Equality State.
Woman suffrage in Wyoming Territory. Scene at the polls in Cheyenne. Illustrated in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, ca. Nov 24. 1888.
Less than three months after the signing of that act, on February 17, 1870, the “Mother of Women Suffrage in Wyoming”-Ester Hobart Morris of South Pass City-became the first woman ever to be appointed a justice of the peace.
Esther Morris, First Woman Officeholder
It stands to reason that with Wyoming being the first place to give women equal rights and being known for it’s cowboys, that Wyoming has many real, independent, strong minded Cowgirls! There are too many to write about and I don’t even know them all, but there are a few that I would like to recognize in this series. These women aren’t out protesting equal rights or wearing ridiculous pink hats on their heads. No, these women are out working right along side the men while still being a lady who enjoys taking care of her family. These women are great examples of what being a Wyoming Cowgirl is.
I know there are amazing cowgirls in every state all across this great country, but I’m just focusing on a few special ones that are hiding out in the hills of good ol’ Wyo for this series of stories, Wyoming Cowgirls.
Please check back to read Wyoming Cowgirls Part 2 about Diane Boroff and Mandy Frank! Then Wyoming Cowgirls Part 3 about Codi Gines and Alecia Scolari! These Wyoming Cowgirls all have their own unique situations in life and making the best of it all. I find the four of them great examples what it means to be a Wyoming Cowgirl.
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Posted in: Featured, Ranch Life
About Tiffany Schwenke
My family has been ranching and raising horses for over 100 years. We raise, train, and market AQHA horses at North Four Mile Creek Horse Ranch. We produce the annual event WYO WILD RIDE RANCH RODEO. I am a wife and a mother to 3 amazing...