The Active Historian

“To the yesterdays that are gone, to the cowboys I used to know, to the bronc busters that rode beside me, to the horses beneath me (sometimes) I take off my hat. I wouldn’t have missed one minute of it.”

Fannie Sperry Steele
(Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame Website)

Fannie Sperry Steele was born in 1887 in the Prickly Pear Valley of Montana Territory on a ranch. This was mainly a dairy operation, but they produced hay as well. As a child, Fannie loved working with horses and competing against other kids in local competitions. Her mother, Rachel taught her to ride.

Fannie would later go on to become one of the best female bronc riders! She rode in her first professional relay race in 1904 and then traveled around the Midwest for the next year with the Montana Girls.

A few years later, Guy Weadick wrote Fannie a letter inviting her to compete against five other women at the Calgary Stampede in 1912. Fannie was named the “World Lady Champion Bucking Horse Rider” after winning on the bronc, Red Wing. She was given $1000, a hand-tooled saddle made by Victor Marden and a gold-mounted belt buckle. Goldie St. Clair won second and Bertha Blancett won third respectively in the Cowgirl Bucking Horse Contest. Fannie placed third in the Cowgirl Relay Race at the 1912 Calgary Stampede receiving $125. Bertha Blancett won first and Mrs. McKenzie won second respectively.

In 1913, Fannie won the World’s Champion Cowgirl Relay Race title at the Winnipeg Stampede. You can see her medal at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum!

Many people were impressed with her skill and riding ability. She rode ‘slick’ her entire career and didn’t use hobbled stirrups like many of the female contestants did at the time.

*Hobbled riders had their stirrups tied together beneath the belly of a horse. This was dangerous because if the horse fell – you couldn’t get free. Slick riders had to have great balance and timing.

In 1913, Fannie married W.S. “Bill” Steele – he was a bronc rider and rodeo clown. The couple performed with C.B. Irwin’s Wild West show for a time and also made appearances in Wild West shows. You can see a newspaper ad for the Steele’s below!

Fannie retired from her rodeo career in 1925. She and Bill moved to Arrastra Creek, Montana where they operated a dude ranch. Bill Steele passed away in 1940, and Fannie continued running the business. She ran the business for many years and retired at age 78. Fannie Sperry Steele passed away in 1983.

In 1975, Fannie Sperry Steele was inducted in the National Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1978 and into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2009.

Concluding Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed researching this post and learned a lot about the life of Fannie Sperry Steele. She was a cowgirl who loved horses and pushed the limits on what could be done in the rodeo arena. I hope you’ll join me next time as we continue learning more about the women of the American West! I’ll talk to ya soon.

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Sources

Liz Stiffler and Tona Blake. “Fannie Sperry-Steele: Montana’s Champion Bronc Rider.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History 32, no. 2 (1982): 44–57. 

Websites

“Fannie Sperry Steele.” National Rodeo Hall of Fame. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Helen Baumler. “Fannie Sperry Steele (1887-1983).” Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame.

“Fannie Sperry Steele.” National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

“Fannie Sperry Steele (1887-1893): Montana’s Lady Bucking Horse Champion.” Montana Historical Society.

Newspapers

“Prize Awards of the Calgary Stampede.” The Calgary Albertan (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) September 9, 1912.

“Fanny Sperry Steele.” Sioux City Journal (Sioux City, IA) July 2, 1913.

“Big Celebration.” The Independent-Record (Helena, MT), July 3, 1915.

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

“Broncho Busting.” The Independent-Record (Helena, MT) April 18, 1914.

“Horse Show Building Tonight.” Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) June 2, 1915.

“Woman Scheduled for ‘Passing of West’ to Ride in N.Y. Race.” The Billings Gazette (Billings, MT), June 11, 1916.

“Girl Champion Wild Horse Rider To Show Her Skill In Tourney.” The Ogden Standard (Ogden, UT), August 12, 1916.

“Typical Scenes At The Pendleton Round-Up.” East Oregonian (Pendleton, OR), September 22, 1916.

*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.

*Blog cover photo is on exhibition at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City in the American Rodeo Gallery.