Welcome to the weekend POU!
Today we feature women who’ve made their marks in rodeo sports.
Verna Hightower
Verna Hightower was a multiple winner of the barrel racing sport on both the black rodeo and white rodeo circuits. She was the first of her race to become a member of the Girl’s Rodeo Association (GRA). With this membership, Verna was entitled to participate in the larger rodeos in which she earned points that qualified her to compete nationally. It is another fact of historical significance that Verna was the first African American woman to participate in the Barrel Racing competition in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo during the years of 1969 and 1970, which was held at the Houston Astrodome in those years.
DeBoraha Akin
DeBoraha Akin (Townson) became the first Black cowgirl to compete in the International Professional Rodeo Finals in 1990. Today she is the only African American Woman to compete with a professional card in the WPRA (Women’s Professional Rodeo Association) at PRCA rodeos throughout the United States.
Rodeo Accomplishments: 1st African-American Female to compete in a rodeo finals 1990 IPRA, Tulsa, OK. 1989 can i buy viagra over the counter canada IPRA Western Region Champion, 5 time Bill Picket Invitational All-Around Cowgirl, 6 time Bill Picket Invitational Barrel Racing Champion, 2003 California State Fair Lifetime Achievement Award, 2010 California Silver Lining Champion.
Stephanie Haynes is also one of the most decorated female rodeo champions in the history of rodeo sports.
Tammie McKnight
McKnight was the first African-American to run and win the Crockett Lions Rodeo Queen Title with her expert barrel racing. Barrel Racing is the only event in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in which all the competitors are female. Contestants enter an arena at top speed on an American Quarter Horse, ride a cloverleaf pattern around three specially positioned barrels, and then sprint out of the arena. An average run lasts 14 — 17 seconds.
Originally from Crockett, Texas, McKnight races at the amateur level but aspires to become the first African American woman to rank among the top 50 professional barrel racers in the world. She also hopes to become the first African American woman to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo held each November in Las Vegas.