Cowgirl and rodeo champion. Sawyer grew up on a New Mexico ranch. Her father demanded that if she was to assist with the ranch work, she would have to perform as well as the men. She began her rodeo career at the age of fifteen, participating in competitions that were previously only open to men. She majored in home economics at Texas Tech University for three years before being forced to leave because of her attendance at rodeos. Sawyer won the title of World Champion All-Around Cowgirl in Madison Square Garden when she was nineteen years old. She was the first woman to win the cutting horse class at the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show and Rodeo in 1945. She went to the first all-girls rodeo in Amarillo, Texas, in 1947. Nancy Binford and Thena Farr organized it, and the stands were packed every night. Sawyer won nearly every event she entered, including tag races, cutting, barrel racing, roping, and team roping. She left the rodeo in her thirties, at the peak of her career, to pursue other interests. She was always in high demand as a rodeo judge after she retired. Sawyer has an award named after her at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, which honors cowgirls and ranch women who excel in their fields. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1976, the Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1991, the National Cutting Horse Association Members Hall of Fame, the Western Heritage Museum & Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1995, and in 2008, a New Mexico Historic Women's Mile Marker was erected in her honor by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division.
Cowgirl and rodeo champion. Sawyer grew up on a New Mexico ranch. Her father demanded that if she was to assist with the ranch work, she would have to perform as well as the men. She began her rodeo career at the age of fifteen, participating in competitions that were previously only open to men. She majored in home economics at Texas Tech University for three years before being forced to leave because of her attendance at rodeos. Sawyer won the title of World Champion All-Around Cowgirl in Madison Square Garden when she was nineteen years old. She was the first woman to win the cutting horse class at the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show and Rodeo in 1945. She went to the first all-girls rodeo in Amarillo, Texas, in 1947. Nancy Binford and Thena Farr organized it, and the stands were packed every night. Sawyer won nearly every event she entered, including tag races, cutting, barrel racing, roping, and team roping. She left the rodeo in her thirties, at the peak of her career, to pursue other interests. She was always in high demand as a rodeo judge after she retired. Sawyer has an award named after her at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, which honors cowgirls and ranch women who excel in their fields. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1976, the Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1991, the National Cutting Horse Association Members Hall of Fame, the Western Heritage Museum & Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1995, and in 2008, a New Mexico Historic Women's Mile Marker was erected in her honor by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division.
Bio by: Debbie Gibbons
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