Friday, March 29, 2013

Dorothy Morrell, World's Champion Cowgirl Bronc Rider

Hello friends...

I know I said I was going to do this on Wednesday and I was being a horrible liar, things got a little crazy, but here we are on Friday and I really am going to tell you about Miss Dorothy Morrell! 



Dorothy Morrell on Skuball
(Photo Credit: flickr)
This photo was taken by photographer Doubleday during Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1926.

I had a really hard time finding any information on her besides in the book Cowgirls by Judy Crandall.

So here is what I did find...

Nothing about when she was born, some of the photos I have looked at are dated around 1920, so I am guessing she was born sometime around 1900, probably a few years earlier.

She was not a only a bronc rider, but a trick rider as well.

She won her first prize money at the Clayton New Mexico Rodeo.

In 1914 at the Pendleton Roundup, she received her lifelong title of World's Champion Cowgirl Bronc Rider

Other accomplishments;

She was elected Queen of the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco where she was awarded with a golden watch.

She received a medal for World's Champion All-Around Cowgirl.

Won the title World's Best Cowgirl Bronk (sic) Rider.

In 1917, she received medals on Movie Day during the New York Guy Weadlick Rodeo.

She later married a man named Skeeter Bill Robbins.

I wish I could have found more information, but that is about all I know about Dorothy!
There is a photo of her where she has literally fallen off of a donkey and is landing on her head. It seems to be quite a joke that she could ride a bucking horse as well as she could but she fell off a donkey. This is where my special interest in her began. Because I have fallen off a donkey! It is quite a good story really, I rode it while it bucked, but those little things can bring things to a stop quite quickly! This may or my not be how I separated my shoulder a couple summers ago... hehe oh dear
She gives me hope that maybe if I am lucky I might be able to ride a bucking horse too, I guess we will find out!
Anyways, the first time Gussie and I were perusing photos and reading about miss Dorothy, Gussie busted up after reading that and told me she was going to start calling me Dorothy! Luckily that one didn't stick, I really don't need another nickname, I have plenty! 

I hope you guys enjoyed this, let me know if there is any certain special cowgirls you would like to hear about next!

I'm off to gather my things and sharpen my knife... because tomorrow is BRANDING DAY! First one of the year and I am so excited I can hardly stand it!!!!
I hope you all have a more than wonderful weekend and enjoy your Easter holiday celebrating in the Lord :)

Much Love,

<3 Kricket

5 comments:

  1. hi, I am in a quandary. I have a photo up on Ebay and couldn't figure out who it was. I live in Oregon and scoured all the rodeo cowgirl sites and finally after thinking it was every other cowgirl I believe its Dorothy Morrell. Please take a look and see and let me know.
    thanks Marianne
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ringlet-Cowgirl-Horse-Pendelton-Round-Up-1917-Original-RPPC-/400550687194?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d42ae71da

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  2. I would say so! But I am not positive either :)

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  3. Dorothy Morrell was born Caroline Eichhorn in Russia in 1888. Her family immigrated to Canada about 1889 settling in Winnipeg. She came to the US in about 1912. She married Skeeter Bill Robbins in 1914 same year she won the title Women's World Champion Bucking Horse Rider at Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. She was awarded $500 in gold and a gold mounted saddle. She suffered a broken leg in 1915 at the Panama-Pacific Exhibition which precluded her from competing the rest of that year. She and Robbins accompanied Tex Auston along with dozens of other cowboys and cowgirls to the Wembley Internation Rodeo (London, England) in 1924. Robbins was killed in a car accident in 1933. The last text documentation of Dorothy's life was published in a magazine called Hooves and Horns in 1941. A photo taken at a rodeo in Union, Oregon in 1948 can be found on the National Cowboy Hall of Fame website and is the last trace I have found of her.

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  4. I am wondering if anyone knows who owns the copyrights to this photo? If you have any info would you please let me know

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  5. I just came across this and would like to join please tell me how I would do that.

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