“But the excitement of the rodeos, the crowds and the thrill of jolting around on a tough horse get into your blood and I guess you just can’t stay away, even if you wanted to.”
-Alice Greenough
“A Candid Talk With — A Cowgirl…” The Daily News and Intelligencer (Mexico, MO), October 8, 1939.
Alice Elizabeth Greenough was born in Red Lodge, Montana on March 17, 1902 to Benjamin and Myrtle (Webb) Greenough. She was the second oldest child and grew up on a ranch participating in local rodeos.
She delivered a mail route for the United States Postal Service while she was still a teenager.
According to the 1920 Federal Census, Alice was 17 years old and her listed occupation was “housework.” She still lived at home with her parents. She had seven other siblings aged 10 to 19. Several of her siblings were talented rodeo athletes as well.
Alice and her sister, Marge were soon hired as lady bronc riders for Billboard Magazine. They sewed their own costumes and lived in a tent while traveling on the rodeo circuit. According to the National Rodeo Hall of Fame, they invented the bell-bottom trousers cowgirls wore throughout the 1930s.
On July 27, 1922, she married Raymond “Ray” Cahill in Roberts, Montana. They had two children. Their first child, Raymond Benjamin Cahill tragically passed away at one day old. Their second child, E Jay Franklin Cahill was born in 1925 and lived to be 94 years old.
In the Sydney Morning Herald, Alice talks about her riding career up to April 1935. Here is a summary of what she described!
From 1925-1928, Alice Greenough competed in Relay Racing, but she eventually stopped due to numerous injuries in this event. She added Bronc Riding in 1928.
“A cowgirl has to be able to get out there and ride just as tough a bronc as the cowboys. Otherwise the rodeo customers think the management is just trying to giver her a break because she’s a girl.”
-Alice Greenough [“A Candid Talk With — A Cowgirl…” The Daily News and Intelligencer (Mexico, MO), October 8, 1939.]
In 1929, she joined the King Brother’s Wild West Rodeo and Hippodrome Racing Unit.
She called 1930 an “off” season due to numerous injuries. The final accident took place in October where she was caught in the stirrup and was drug the length of the arena after being bucked off a horse in El Paso, Texas. Her left ankle was completely broken and she had to stay in bed for four months. She spent the next year on crutches while it healed.
By 1932, she took a contract in Mexico to perform in the bull ring. She rode bulls and gave trick riding exhibitions.
At the end of March 1932, she sailed on to Spain where another contract awaited her. She worked in thirty different bull rings doing bareback riding, trick riding, and bull riding.
Alice stated, “I didn’t find the Spanish bronks hard to ride, but I do believe that my idea of riding those fighting bulls was the worst thing I ever undertook in my life…”
“My Riding Days.” The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), April 11, 1935.
After her time in Spain, she went to Southern France and Portugal. Alice returned to the United States in 1933 and competed at the largest rodeos in Bronc Riding.
She won the Bronc Riding title at the Boston Garden Rodeo in 1933 for the first time.
“I believe that it was the happiest day of my life when I rode into the arena to be presented with the trophy by Colonel W. T. Johnson. I have won trophies before, but none inspired me like winning this one. I did a great deal of hard riding to win it, and took a lot of punishment on good bucking horses also.”
“My Riding Days.” The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), April 11, 1935.
She went on to win the title at Boston again 1935 and 1936.
In the picture below you can see three cowgirls shining their boots at the Madison Square Garden rodeo in 1933. From left to right you will see, Lucyle Roberts of Oklahoma, Alice Greenough, and Rene Shelton of Texas.
Overall, Alice had very good seasons in 1933 and 1934. In 1934, she and 110 other rodeo athletes sailed for London, England for the World’s Series Rodeo. They traveled on the ship, Aurania and left port from Montreal, Canada. While touring with rodeo in Europe and Australia, she was given the opportunity to interact and meet with members of the British royal family.
In September 1934, she sailed for Australia again competing in the Melbourne Centenary Stampede. You can see a newspaper advertisement from 1935 below! Alice Greenough regularly competed in Australia until World War II halted American participation.
Traveling back to Sydney, Australia, Alice won the title for “Cowgirl Buckjumping Contest” in 1935 and 1939. You can see the two trophies below at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
“Shows and frilly evening gowns are nice, and I like to dance, but I don’t like that kind of life all the time. After a spell on the road it’s good to get back to our Montana ranch and beat it out to the round-up wagon with people around that I’ve known most of my life.”
-Alice Greenough [“A Candid Talk With — A Cowgirl…” The Daily News and Intelligencer (Mexico, MO), October 8, 1939.]
In 1936, Alice Greenough rode Red Wing to win the Cowgirl’s Bronc Riding Contest at Madison Square Garden.
Pictured below is the Edelbrock & Son Saddlery Co. trophy saddle Alice Greenough won for the Ladies’ Bronc-Riding Title at the 1940 Madison Square Garden World’s Championship Rodeo. She was the second-to-last woman to win this event because women’s events were eliminated in 1942.
Alice Greenough retired from rodeo after women’s bronc riding was removed in the 1930s and 1940s. She and her sister along with their families moved to Tucson, Arizona. The sisters worked as extras in film and television and operated as a horse-wrangling team. Alice worked in the film industry on and off for the next five decades.
In addition to stunt work, Alice Greenough and Joe Orr began producing rodeos. In 1967, Alice Greenough married Joe Orr. Their rodeo company that toured the United States called, “Greenough-Orr Rodeo.” Numerous sources I read cite them hosting the first barrel racing event for women which I found to be very interesting!
Alice Greenough did still ride broncs at their rodeos from time to time!
In 1975, Alice Greenough was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
She passed away on August 20, 1995 in Tucson, Arizona at the age of 93. She was laid to rest at the Evergreen Memorial Park.
She was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1983 alongside her sister, Margie (Henson) Greenough and brother, Turk Greenough.
In 2010, she was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame. Two years later in 2012, she was named to the 100 Most Influential Montanans of the 20th Century.
Concluding Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed reading about Alice Greenough and will join me next time as we continue ‘breaking trail,’ uncovering the stories of the American West.
Sources
Secondary Sources
Alice Greenough Panel – National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
Richard Rattenbury. “Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo.” [Pages: 67, 132, 180, 183]
Websites
“Alice Greenough.” National Rodeo Hall of Fame. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
“Margie (Henson) Greenough.” National Rodeo Hall of Fame. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
“Turk Greenough.” National Rodeo Hall of Fame. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
“Alice Greenough Orr.” National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
Chris Enss. “COWGIRL Iconic: Alice Greenough.” COWGIRL Magazine. October 2, 2022.
“The Ladies Busted Broncs.” Montana Women’s History.
“Alice Greenough Orr.” Find A Grave.
Documentary
“Take Willy with Ya.” (1989)
Primary Sources
“Alice Greenough.” Montana, County Marriage Records, 1865-1967. Montana State Historical Society, Helena, Montana. (Certificate Number: 2582)
“Alice Greenough.” Marriage License. Marriage Records. Montana County Marriages. County courthouses, Montana. (004351455)
“Alice Elizabeth Greenough.” Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services; Helena, Montana; Montana, Birth Records, 1919-1986.
Census Records
“Elise Grenough.” 1910 United States Federal Census. 1910; School District 2, Yellowstone, Montana; Roll: T624_837; Page: 18a; Enumeration District: 0243; FHL microfilm: 1374850.
“Alice Greenough.” 1920 United States Federal Census. 1920; Billings Ward 3, Yellowstone, Montana; Roll: T625_978; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 168.
Historic Photographs
“NH 113077 Miss Alice Greenough, International Radio Performer chars with Aviation cadets, May 1, 1941.
Newspapers
“Royal Easter Show.” The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), April 2, 1935.
“My Riding Days.” The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), April 11, 1935.
“Johnnie Schneider…” The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), April 15, 1935.
“Woman Peer of World Riders…” St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO), April 15, 1936.
“Oklahomans Win In Annual New York Rodeo.” The Enid Daily Eagle (Enid, OK), October 8, 1936.
“Cowgirls Get Their Man.” The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), February 21, 1939.
Daily News (Late Edition) (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), February 21, 1939. [Page: 1]
“A Candid Talk With — A Cowgirl…” The Daily News and Intelligencer (Mexico, MO), October 8, 1939.
“Great Woman Bronc Rider.” The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA), October 15, 1939.
“Blackfoot Rancher Marries Cowgirl.” The Post-Register (Idaho Falls, ID), February 20, 1940.
“Champion Cowgirl Gets Marriage Annulment.” The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, UT), September 25, 1941.
“Kalispell Rodeo.” The Daily Inter Lake (Kalispell, MT), August 16, 1946.
“Greenough and Orr Rodeo at the Hill County Fair.” The Havre Daily News (Havre, MT), July 28, 1947.
“Will Ride Here Again.” The Havre Daily News (Havre, MT), July 7, 1948.
“The Hill County Fair and Rodeo.” The Havre Daily News (Havre, MT), July 19, 1948.
“Alice Rides A Bronc.” The Havre Daily News (Havre, MT), August 5, 1948.
“Alice Orr.” The Stuart News (Stuart, Florida), August 28, 1995.
*All digitized primary sources were found on ancestry.com. All newspaper clippings were found on newspapers.com. I am not affiliated with either website, but wanted you to know where you could find the information for yourself should you want to access it.
*Blog Cover Photo: A photo on exhibition at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City in the American Rodeo Gallery.
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