Celebrating the Women of the West
Whether exploring Western heritage or the modern frontier, Cowgirl Beyond celebrates the women who break barriers, preserve traditions, and inspire future generations. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and discover the stories that prove the cowgirl spirit knows no boundaries.
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Latest Episodes
Carole Jackson-Holyan
Carole Jackson-Holyan is a proud citizen of the Navajo Nation, rodeo champion, entrepreneur, and cultural advocate. Carole’s story is one of breaking barriers—from becoming the youngest INFR world champion in barrel racing at just 11 years old, to serving as the first and only woman commissioner and vice president of the Indian National Finals Rodeo. Join The Cowgirl as it explores her journey in the arena and beyond—how her father’s legacy inspired her to champion Native athletes, how she’s grown into a leader for Indigenous women through business and mentorship, and how she continues to bridge cultures through rodeo, education, and community.
Nancy Martiny
Nancy Martiny is a master saddle maker and a true artisan of the American West. From her ranch in May, Idaho, Nancy has spent more than three decades crafting saddles that are as functional as they are beautiful. Her work is rooted in tradition, mentorship, and the belief that true craftsmanship takes time, heart, and a steady hand. Learn how she got her start as a young girl carving leather alongside her father, how mentorship from the legendary Dale Harwood shaped her path, and what it means to be one of the few women mastering a trade long dominated by men.
Sarahmarge “Wink” Crigler
Sarahmarge “Wink” Crigler, owner of the X Diamond Ranch and a fourth-generation rancher, maintains the homestead her great-grandparents settled in the 1890s. Located in South Fork Canyon near Greer, the ranch attracts thousands of visitors for horseback riding, fly fishing in the Little Colorado River, and relaxing in mountain cabins. Committed to preserving ranching traditions, Crigler co-founded the Ranching Heritage Alliance in 2008 to promote sustainability and stewardship.
Cheryl Cody
The National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame welcomed Oklahoma dynamo Cheryl Cody to its ranks in 2025. Founder of Pro Management, Inc., Cheryl has been a key figure in the equine industry for decades. Her company has managed top reining and reined cow horse events, including the National Reining Horse Association Futurity and Derby, National Reining Breeders Classic, 100X Reining Classic, and all the National Reined Cow Horse Association premier events. Listen for more of her inspiring story!
Past Episodes
The Pack Horse Library Project
The Pack Horse Library Project ran from 1936 to 1943, with librarians on horseback traveling 10,000 square miles of rugged eastern Kentucky to provide reading materials to isolated families, some of the hardest hit by the Great Depression. The WPA “book women” rode out at least twice a month, in all kinds of weather, with each route covering 100 to 120 miles a week. At its height, the program helped serve almost 100,000 people. By the time the Pack Horse Library Project ended in 1943, it had made a lasting impact on the people of rural Appalachia.
JJ Hampton
JJ Hampton is a 17-time world champion and 2024 Cowgirl Honoree. In this exclusive interview, we learn about little girls who dressed as JJ for Halloween, the story behind her signature purple hat, and her hopes for the future of breakaway roping. JJ dubs her induction into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame “the honor of all honors” and shares how she hopes the legacy of her induction will inspire future generations of her family.
Beth Cross
2024 Cowgirl Honoree, Beth Cross, the Co-Founder and CEO of Ariat International shares her unconventional career path from working as a cook on a salmon processing boat in Alaska to becoming CEO of an international western apparel brand, and at what point she and her team knew they had created something really special with Ariat performance boots. Beth reveals Ariat’s namesake, the company values that have contributed to over 30 years of success, and a quote that inspires her to take every setback as an opportunity: “I’m either winning or I’m learning.”
Kaila Mussell
Kaila Mussell, 2024 Honoree, was the first woman to become a professional saddle bronc rider since the formation of the PRCA in 1993. Tune in as Kaila discusses the mechanics of bronc riding as a woman, 101 Ways to Break Your Neck by Frank E. Dean (which Kaila dubs “the best book ever”), and her experiences opening up about her mental health. Kaila Mussell possesses incredible talent on horseback and outside the arena, and we are honored to welcome her into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame!
*Content warning: mild language*
Curating Soldaderas to Amazonas: Escaramuzas Charras
Go behind-the-scenes in a conversation with the Museum’s Associate Executive Director of Exhibits and Education, Dr. Diana Vela and Curator of Collections, Ashley Kowalski.
Diana and Ashley share highlights and challenges they experienced in the creation of this exhibition and explain how Soldaderas to Amazonas: Escaramuzas Charras is different from any exhibition they have created before.
Gladys Roldán-de-Moras
Award winning artist and 2023 Cowgirl Honoree Gladys Roldán-de-Moras invites listeners insider her career painting scenes of escaramuzas and charreria. Roldan-de-Moras shares her inspiring story of following her passion for art and her Mexican heritage and the impact it has made on her life. She also explains her processes when painting the colorful vestidos worn by the escaramuzas and the capturing movement of the dangerous sport.
Escaramuza, the Poetics of Home
Learn more about the creators behind Escaramuza, the Poetics of Home: photographer Constance Jaeggi, poets ire’ne lara silva and Angelina Saenz, and Dr. Marcela Fuentes. This project combines original portraiture and ekphrastic poetry to delve into themes of family, identity, and gender within the escaramuza community. The exhibit will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog that can be purchased in the Museum gift shop. Escaramuza, the Poetics of Home is currently a part of the National Cowgirl Museum’s traveling exhibits.
Constance Jaeggi
Join photographer Constance Jaeggi as she discusses her experience researching, shooting, and crafting the series of portraits, Escaramuza, The Poetics of Home. View Constance’s work at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas as part of the new exhibition, Soldaderas to Amazonas: Escaramuzas Charras. Jaeggi has studied at the New York Film Academy and most recently completed a Master of Art History and Art World Practice at Christie’s in London. Her work has been internationally exhibited and published. In 2021, she was shortlisted for the Critical Mass Awards and has been published notably by The Guardian and The Washington Post.
Behind the Scenes with Diana Vela, PhD and Constance Jaeggi
The exhibition of photography by Constance Jaeggi was commissioned specifically for Soldaderas to Amazonas: Escaramuzas Charras at the Cowgirl Museum. Jaeggi has studied at the New York Film Academy and completed a Master of Art History and Art World Practice at Christie’s in London. The principal investigator, researcher, and curator in collaboration with Constance Jaeggi is Diana Vela, Ph.D, Associate Executive Director of Exhibits and Education at the National Cowgirl Museum. Her tie to the subject is organic with ancestors being recipients of a Spanish land grant, Laguna Seca in the Rio Grande Valley.
Paola Pimienta
Paola Pimienta, Ambassador of the U.S. Coordination of Charrería and Reina Nacional, has been an invaluable resource to the Museum during the creation of Soldaderas to Amazonas: Escaramuzas Charras. Join Paola as she sits down with host Madison Ward to reflect on her time serving as Ambassador and Queen and discusses how charrería has shaped her life.
Camilla Naprous
“There’s something about getting to share your knowledge and passion with another that is a gift.” Hear 2018 Cowgirl Honoree Camilla Naprous talk to Dr. Diana Vela about the process of matching horses and actors, how her family got into the entertainment industry, and a few of her plans for the future.
Jimmie Gibbs-Munroe
In the final episode of the first season of the Museum’s podcast She Said What – Conversations at The Cowgirl we chat with the new 2021 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association President Jimmie Gibbs-Munroe. She is a 1992 Cowgirl Honoree and was born into the heritage of the 101 Ranch. She has recently been elected as the current WPRA president for a 3rd term. During her previous terms as president, she led the association in acquiring equal prize money, obtained national sponsors, advanced the use of electric timers, and better arena conditions. An all-around cowgirl, she has made 11 trips to the National Finals Rodeo and won the WPRA world titles in barrels, all-around, tie-down roping-all in 1975. We hope you enjoy this episode discussing her goals as the WPRA president and the legacy she has paved.
Barbara Van Cleve
Join 1995 Cowgirl Honoree Barbara Van Cleve from The Resort at Paws Up in Montana during the Cowgirl Fall Roundup. Her photography work is renowned for realistically portraying ranch life in the modern West. Raised on the family’s Montana ranch, she learned ranch life as a participant, with photography as an avocation. Van Cleve taught English Literature and Photography at DePaul University in Chicago, becoming the youngest Dean of Women in the U.S. She later pursued photography full-time and had her first major exhibition in 1985. Van Cleve has had more than 50 solo photography exhibitions and a lifetime of experience in the West through photography and ranching. You may recognize her from her feature on CBS Sunday Morning that premiered in 2019.
Public and Private Life of Annie Oakley
Staff at the Cowgirl discuss both the public and private life of one of the most well-known cowgirls ever – 1984 Honoree Annie Oakley. In this conversation, we talk about aspects of Oakley’s life, beyond her world-acclaimed sharp shooting skills, which most listeners are not familiar with. If you want to see some of the Annie Oakley artifacts we have and you can’t visit in person, check out our OnCell digital tour at cowgirl.oncell.com. This episode was recorded during the pandemic.
Christina Voros
In today’s episode we talk with incoming 2021 Patsy Montana Award Recipient Christina Voros, who is a cinematographer. She has worked on the hit series “Yellowstone,” being the only female director and director of photography. She has also worked with industry leaders such as filmmaker Tate Taylor and producer Oprah Winfrey. We are excited for our listeners to learn who Voros is and how she went from being a bartender and fencing competitor to a cowgirl and cinematographer.
Lindy Burch and Donna Howell-Sickles at Cowgirl Spring Roundup
This episode features cutting horse champion, 1997 Honoree Lindy Burch and western artist, 2007 Honoree Donna Howell-Sickles during Cowgirl Spring Roundup at The Resort at Paws Up in beautiful Montana. Burch holds the distinction being the first female to win the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity in 1980 and the first female president of the NCHA. Howell-Sickles has more than 40 years of experience exploring the layers beneath the cowgirl’s engaging exterior; she was chosen as the first woman artist to create the collectible poster for the Pendleton Roundup, and her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications.
The Cowgirl Roundup events in the fall and spring are in partnership with The Resort at Paws Up in Greenough, Montana. If you are interested in attending a future Cowgirl Roundup visit PawsUp.com.
