Female Rodeo Performers & Riders. Three Black-and-white Press Photos of Rodeo Riders, including an Image of Claire Belcher Thomas.
1) R. R. Doubleday: Cheyenne, WYO., 1927. Claire Belcher of San Antonio, Tex. Gelatin silver print, date stamped on verso (touched up with black and white paint, black paint to edges for use in print); 11 x 7 in. Inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2008, Claire Belcher Thomas (1902-1971), née Gladys Rogers Emmons, was a leading performer in the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show, which traveled the United States and included many prominent women riders such as Lucille Mulhall and Lulu Belle Parr as performers. Belcher was the Miller Brothers' only female bulldogger, garnering praise for her outstanding strength and bravery from local news outlets. "Claire set a record at the Cotton Palace Rodeo when she threw a steer in eight-and-four-fifths seconds. A mighty shout went up from the crowd in the grandstand when her time was announced. Rodeo patrons fascinated by the notion of a woman bulldogger clamored for more information about Claire. (See "Wild Women of The West: Claire Belcher Thompson" by Chris Enss in Cowgirl Magazine, July 19, 2023).
2) New York: Acme Newspictures, 1934. Gelatin silver print, dated on verso typed caption pasted to verso reading: "Equestrian Ambassador. Preparing for the stock classes of the ninth Santa Barbara, Calif. National Horse Show, Miss Tessie Williams (above), 21-year-old Senior at Santa Barbara State College, attracted the attention of the Junior Chamber of Commerce selecting jury, and was chosen as her city's official envoy to the California Rodeo at Salinas, beginning July 26. Miss Williams demonstrates how to control a rarin' palomino." (touched up with black ink); 9 x 7 in.
3) New York: Acme Newspictures, 1935. Gelatin silver print, dated on verso, typed caption pasted to verso reading: "Pretty Cowgirls Compete. High school girls of Santa Barbara, Calif., pass in review before the judges stand during a recent competition to select the county's most representative outdoor girl to represent the county at the Salinas Rodeo, in California, in July. Photo shows, left to right: Mable Forsythe, (winner); Virginia Collier, Lompoc; Ruth Southerland, Santa Maria; Irma Jean Verhelle, Santa Barbara; Berenice Penter, Santa Maria, alternate winner; Donna Butler, Carpenteria; and Margaret Bailard, Carpenteria." (3)
