The Active Historian

Florence Hughes Randolph was born in 1898 in Augusta, Georgia. She learned how to ride on plow mules.

She learned to Trick and Roman ride with Colonel King’s IXL Ranch Wild West show. In 1916, she organized Princess Mohawk’s Wild West Hippodrome. She performed with traveling carnivals.

Florence defeated thirteen male contestants in the at the 1919 Calgary Stampede in Roman-race Riding. She won the Prince of Wales Trophy.

Florence was a tough rider. An article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram quoted her stating, “Yes, I’m in pretty bad shape, but that doesn’t matter. I’ll ride anyway… Sure, I won’t let a little thing like a few broken ribs stop me.” She was referring to riding at Fort Worth in 1922.

In 1923, Florence stated, “With the field of cowgirl trick riders who have entered for the contest here, the going will be anything but slow, but I am not worried, as when I am in condition I can hold my own with any of them, and by the time the first contest is called I will be in as good form as I ever was. I am doing a number of new vaults and tricks that I will rely upon to place me in the winning and when the judges announce their decisions you can look for the name of Florence Hughes at or near the head of the list.” [“Florence Hughes, Daring Trick-Rider, Reaches Iowa Park For Big Rodeo.” Times Record News (Wichita Falls, TX), April 10, 1923.]

In 1925, she married Floyd Randolph. He was a cowboy and saddlemaker.

She won the Loving Cup in Chicago in 1925 as the “champion cowgirl of the world.” (“Big Parade Precedes Rodeo Start,” Henryetta Daily Free-Lance (Henrietta, OK), June 6, 1929)

In 1926, she was name the all-around-champion cowgirl at Philadelphia’s Sesquicentennial Rodeo. She won bronc-riding and trick-riding. The purse was $6,000. The trophy she won is in the photo below on the top right!

In August 1926, she won the George W. Dixon trophy pitcher at the Tex Austin Chicago Rodeo. She was named the “World’s Champion Cowgirl Bronc Rider.” She also won the trick riding contest.

She won the first MGM Trophy at Madison Square Garden in 1927 as the All-Around Champion Cowgirl.

In 1928, she was named the “World’s Champion Cowgirl Trick Rider” at Tex Austin’s Chicago Championship Rodeo. She won a silver pitcher trophy. You can see a photo of it in Arena Legacy on page 170. [Rattenbury, 170]

In 1933, she was named the “Champion Cowgirl Trick and Fancy Rider” at the Chicago World’s Fair Rodeo. The magazine, Ranch Romances presented the award with the trophy inscription reading, “A magazine devoted to the life and exploits of the cowboy and cowgirl.”

In 1936, she was named the “Cowgirl Trick Riding” champion at the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show rodeo. You can see a photo in Arena Legacy on page 182. [Rattenbury, 182]

Florence had other talents as well which included motorcycle racing and acting as a stunt double in movies.

In 1939, she retired from active competition. Florence and her husband went on to manage and produce the annual rodeo in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

Florence passed away in 1971.

In 1968, Florence was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1994.

Florence Hughes Randolph Case at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

You can view this case at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is located in their ‘American Rodeo Gallery.’

Florence Hughes wore the pair of batwing chaps below when saddle-bronc riding. The chaps were seen as a functional and fashionable element by the late 1920s.

The Hyer boots and Crockett Bit and Spur Company spurs were custom made for Florence. The back of the spurs even have her initials engraved on them.

Concluding Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed learning Florence Randolph Hughes’ story and will see you soon as we continue ‘breaking trail’ in the stories of the American West!

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Sources

“Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo” by Richard C. Rattenbury. [Pages – 59-60, 66-67, 106, 163, 168, 170, 179, 182, 295, 302-303.]

Panels in the American Rodeo Gallery at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Websites

Dianna Everett. “Florence Hughes Randolph.” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society.

“Florence Hughes Fenton Randolph.” National Rodeo Hall of Fame. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

“Florence Hughes Randolph.” National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

Photographs

“Texas rodeo performer [Florence Hughes Randolph].” 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.S6.527. (Public Domain)

“Texas rodeo performer [Florence Hughes Randolph].” 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.S6.529. (Public Domain)

Newspapers

“Famous Cowgirl To Take Part In Rodeo.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, TX), March 7, 1922.

“Florence Hughes, Daring Trick-Rider, Reaches Iowa Park For Big Rodeo.” Times Record News (Wichita Falls, TX), April 10, 1923.

“Daring Girls to Vie for Big Prizes at Ten Austin’s Rodeo.” The Buffalo Times (Buffalo, NY), August 20, 1923.

“Rodeo Exhibition.” The Ardmore Daily Press (Ardmore, OK), April 13, 1927.

“Famous Riders Here.” Seminole Producer (Seminole, OK), June 22, 1927.

“Big Parade Precedes Rodeo Start,” Henryetta Daily Free-Lance (Henrietta, OK), June 6, 1929.

“Now for the Big Show.” Henryetta Daily Free-Lance (Henrietta, OK), June 7, 1929.

“Champion Lady Bronk Rider To Come For Rodeo.” The Wewoka Capital-Democrat (Wewoka, OK), March 23, 1928.

*Blog cover photo is on exhibition at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. [Accession Number: 79.026.2726]