The Active Historian

Ann Robins was born in Wyoming in the 1870s, but she later was known as ‘Prairie Rose.’ She grew up on a ranch roping and riding then became one of the best bareback riders and relay racers on the rodeo circuit.

Cowgirl, Vera McGinnis said Prairie Rose Henderson “was the queen of fashion.” (Rattenbury, 62) She always had unique outfits that made her stand out in the arena which typically involved sequins, feathers and chiffon.

Prairie Rose also participated in Wild West shows and silent Westerns.

In 1915, she appeared in a motion picture with Lucille Mulhall, Red Parker, the Wier Bros., Fred Hunter, Fred Kelly, Lee Caldwell, and more!

Tragically, Prairie Rose was out riding and got caught in a snowstorm. She became lost and couldn’t find her way back. People spent weeks looking for her, but they weren’t able to find her. Six and half years later her skeleton was discovered by a firefighter. Prairie Rose was identified by the championship belt buckle still around her waist.

Prairie Rose Henderson was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2008.

Concluding Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed learning about Prairie Rose Henderson. I’ll see you next time for another Western story! Talk to ya soon 🙂

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Sources

“Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo” by Richard C. Rattenbury. [Page – 62]

Photographs

“Texas rodeo performer [Prairie Rose Henderson].” Erwin E. Smith. 1920s. Gelatin dry plate negative. Erwin E. Smith Collection of the Library of Congress on Deposit at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. LC.S6.525. (Public Domain)

Websites

“Prairie Rose Henderson.” National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

Chris Enss. “Wild Women of the West: Prairie Rose Henderson.” COWGIRL Magazine. July 28, 2021.

Chris Enss. “The Sad Fate of Legendary Cowgirl Prairie Rose Henderson.” COWGIRL Magazine.

Newspapers

“Yah-ee! Rodeo on Parad Pageant Shows Wild West.” Los Angeles Evening Express (Los Angeles, California) February 10, 1913.

“Contestants in Strenuous Games of the West.” Sioux City Journal (Sioux City, Iowa) July 2, 1913.

“‘Cowgirls’ Divide Riding Honors.” Sioux City Journal (Sioux City, IA), July 5, 1913.

“At The Picture Show.” The Cordell Beacon (Cordell, OK), March 25, 1915.

“High Class Frontier Pictures.” The Waverly Gazette (Waverly, KS), April 23, 1915.

“At The Princess Theater.” The Lincoln Sentinel (Lincoln, KS), December 23, 1915.

“Boston Sunday Post Pictorial Section.” Boston Post (Boston, MA), August 20, 1916.

“The Roundup Parade Tonight.” The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, MO), August 31, 1916.

“‘Cowgirls’ and Chicago’s Premier Cowboy.” Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL), July 4, 1920.

*All newspaper clippings in this blog post were pulled from newspapers.com. I am not affiliated with this website. I just wanted to let you know where I found my digitized sources.