Chris Enss

“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, California, and was mesmerized by the women...

An angry chestnut mare dashed out of the wire enclosure, bucking and twisting.  The rider on its back gripped the reins with all her strength.  The horse pitched, whirled, and kicked in an attempt to eject the passenger.  Lulu Bell Parr, the tenacious cowgirl atop the animal, held on tightly, determined not to be thrown. ...

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...

“If there aren’t any horses in heaven, I don’t want to go,” World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Fanny Sperry Steele told a New York public relations consultant in 1980. Fanny’s love for horses began at the age of three when she tried to lasso a pinto with her mother’s scarf. By the time she was...

Night had fallen over Tombstone, Arizona, and every restless and rowdy character in the vicinity of the southwestern town had poured into the saloons and gambling dens to while away the hours until dawn arrived. The doorways of the numerous taverns that lined Allen Street were illuminated with smoky kerosene torches. Signs that hung over...

The cold, grey January sky above Virginia City, Nevada, in 1867 unleashed a torrent of sleet on a slow moving funeral procession traveling along the main thoroughfare of town.  Several members of the volunteer fire department, Virginia Engine Company Number One, was first in a long line of mourners following after a horse drawn carriage...

Some women were just born to the occupation of rodeo performer, trick rider and roper, and Nancy Bragg Witmer was one of those women.  Nancy first rode into the rodeo arena to dazzle fans with her talents in 1939.  The Kansas native perfected her roping and riding skills as a member of the Tulsa Mounted...

Lawman Bill Tilghman opened his eyes to flickering candle-light.  He was in a bunk, covered with blankets.  His shoulder was aching and stiff with bandages.  He was thirstier than he could ever remember.  He turned his head slowly and the movement brought a woman’s figure out of the shadows.  “How are you feeling?” said a...

Twenty-four-year-old Dr. Bessie Efner peered through the dusty windows of the passenger car on the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad at the endless Wyoming prairie. Sagebrush and buffalo grass dotted the landscape. The tough, tenacious plants emitted a peculiar, pungent odor that wafted through the opened windows next to the seats across the aisle. As...