Chris Enss

Contributions

COWGIRL Iconic: Mary Fields

A well-traveled trail rests peacefully between the rich forested hillsides around the town of Cascade, Montana, and snakes seventeen miles west to St. Peter’s Mission.  The road, as well as the mission itself, was the hub of activity in 1895. Back and forth along the route, Mary Fields, a former slave from Tennessee, drove a stagecoach carrying...

Wild Women Of The West: Bonnie Gray

From the early 1920s to the mid-1930s, trick and fancy rider Bonnie Gray and her company were recognized as some of the best rodeo performers in the country.  The famous, all-around cowgirl solidified her place in the profession as an expert in the “under the belly crawl” stunt.  Riding quickly into the arena atop her...

Wild Women Of The West: Texas Guinan

Texas Guinan (Mary Louise Cecelia Guinan) was a popular cowgirl star from 1918-1923, who grew up on a ranch near Waco, Texas. Before graduating from high school, she received a scholarship from the Chicago Conservatory of Music. After she acquired a degree in music and art, she moved to Denver and helped her father on...

Wild Women Of The West: Victoria Forde

When news that cowgirl and silent film actress Victoria Forde had left her husband, Western star Tom Mix, in August 1928, fans were crushed.  The husband-and-wife team had entertained audiences in several films together between 1914 and 1922. Both were skilled riders who performed their own stunts in the cowboy and outlaw movies made for...

Wild Women Of The West: Olive Fuller Golden

When the five-reel western drama A Knight of the Range premiered in early 1916, critics praised silent film cowboy and cowgirl actors Harry D. Carey and Olive Fuller Golden’s performances.  Audiences were dazzled by the equestrian feats never-before seen in a motion picture.  “Stunts that are inconceivable of execution are performed before the all-seeing eye...

Wild Women Of The West: Marie Walcamp

Today’s film fans cannot conceive of a time when kids stomped and whistled and cheered when the names of their favorite cowgirl actresses flashed on the screen.  Children of all ages flocked to the Saturday matinee to see such silent film stars such as Eileen Sedgwick, Ruth Roland, and the serial queen of 1919, Marie...

Wild Women Of The West: Ruth Roland

Reel cowgirl Ruth Roland portrayed Pearl Marvin in a dozen silent films in The Perils of Pauline series between 1915 and 1917. Fans were on the edge of their seats watching the spunky actress ride her way in and out of trouble while solving crimes.  They waited in suspended animation for the film operator to...

Wild Women Of The West: Dorothy Morrell

“I rode my first horse on a bet,” admitted World Champion cowgirl Dorothy Morrell in 1917. “That I am champion woman rider of the world today was due to an accident, or rather a dare.” At the age of twenty-four Dorothy attended a wild west exhibition in Fresno and was mesmerized by the women bronc...

COWGIRL Iconic: May Lillie

A bespectacled photographer emerged from under a black curtain draped over a massive camera and tripod.  In his right hand he held an instrument that when pressed would take a picture.  In his left hand he held a flash attachment to illuminate his subject.  “On the count of three, Mrs. Lillie,” he warned.  May Manning...
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