January 3, 2008
Media contact: Danny Latham, Jr.
Office: 817/509-8991
Mobile: 817/715-2868
[email protected]
Rodeo U
February 1
Be the judge and spend a day with Cowgirl U at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Your day will begin with a tour of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame with National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Honorees Ann Hanson and Jan Youren. Attend educational workshops on rodeo events and learn to score rides with a PRCA judge. Registration includes lunch at the Museum and dinner by REATATM at the Backstage Club. To top it all off, you will have the best seat in the house for an evening performance at the world’s original indoor rodeo! Enrollment is limited to 12 participants.
Location: Meet at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
Time: 9 a.m. to end of the Rodeo
Cost: $195 per person
Leather Tooling
February 16
The ability to work with leather has always been a very important skill for those who live the western lifestyle. Mrs. Jerry Fraser has not only tooled leather for cowgirls and cowboys but literally for kings and queens. You will take a small project from start to finish while learning an art form that has been an integral part of western heritage for years. Enrollment is limited to 20 participants.
Location: National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
Time: 10 a.m. to noon
Cost: $45/$35 for museum members
Rope Handling
March 1
There are not many images more western than a “cowhand” twirling a lasso. Handling a rope has always been a necessity, both on working ranches and in rodeo events. In this Cowgirl U workshop, taught by National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Honoree Pam Minick, you will learn how to handle a rope plus use one to tie a calf dummy. Enrollment is limited to 20 participants.
· Location: Will Rogers Memorial Center Front Lawn on Lancaster St., Fort Worth
· Time: 10 a.m. to noon
· Cost: $35/$25 for museum members
Cowgirl 101
April 12
Spend a day on a working ranch with Cowgirl U and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) at Cowgirl 101 – an introductory, hands-on workshop designed for the eager yet inexperienced horseman or horsewoman. AQHA instructors will teach basic horsemanship in addition to your lessons in rope handling and hat shaping. You will enjoy a chuck wagon lunch and spend time with National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Honoree Nita Brooks Lewallen.
Location: McFarland Ranch, Aledo, Texas
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: $185/$165 for museum members (includes lunch and palm leaf hat)
Trail Trial:
April 13
Trail Trials test the rider/horse “partnership.” This new Cowgirl U event is your chance to test those abilities of you and your horse in a natural setting outside an arena. You will receive a trail clinic prior to the trials with an AQHA clinician on a North Texas, working cattle ranch.
Location: McFarland Ranch, Aledo, Texas
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: $50 per person (includes clinic and lunch)
Kindle the Cowgirl Spirit Women’s Retreat
May 7-10
Saddle up for the ultimate working ranch experience in the Texas Hill Country led by five National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Honorees: Kathy Daughn, Wantha Davis, Sherri Mell,
Carol Rose and Hope Varner. Bring your own horse, or use one of ours, for educational workshops on horsemanship, rope handling, cutting, poetry, music and more. This popular retreat, set on a picturesque Texas Hill country ranch, is perfect for a laid back cowgirl experience. So grab your girlfriends and enrich your mind, body and spirit. Enrollment is limited to the first 30 women, 18 years old and up.
Location: Simmons Ranch, Burnet, Texas
Cost: $1,500-$2,300 per person for Ranch Accommodations
$300 per person to rent horse for the weekend
Photography Workshop with Barbara Van Cleve
June 5-8
Spend three inspirational days with National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Honoree and world-renowned photographer Barbara Van Cleve. This workshop is for photographers who want to experience new ways of seeing the world through their camera. Photograph opportunities include horse activities, sunrise, sunset, clouds, landscapes, cowboys and perhaps cattle branding. The workshop is limited to 20 participants.
Location: Sweet Grass Ranch, Big Timber, Montana
Cost: $1,200 per person (Please note that all participants should be at the intermediate riding level.)
Ranch Life California
July 18-20
Bring your horse, or use one of ours, and join us in the beautiful hills of central California for an authentic ranch experience. Whether it’s riding, learning how to work cattle on horseback, team-sorting or rope handling, you will spend plenty of time in the saddle, side-by-side with working cowboys and cowgirls. Also, you will learn about the traditional style of Vaquero horsemanship from National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Honoree Sheila Varian. Pitch your own tent at our camp grounds which include modern restrooms and showers, water hookups for your trailer or RV and a log-style indoor eating area. Enrollment is limited to 30 participants.
Location: V6 Ranch, Parkfield, California
Cost: Youth (12-18) – $600 Bring your own horse; $700 Rent Horse for weekend
Adult (18+) – $700 Bring your own horse; $800 Rent Horse for weekend
A Cowgirl Adventure in the Colorado Rockies
August 7-10
Join Cowgirl U for a private get-a-way to the High Mesa Ranch in Red Wing, Colorado. This is an intimate excursion where trail rides start at 9,000 feet into the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Southern Colorado. Dine on delicious meals prepared by an outstanding private chef, enjoy an outdoor hot tub overlooking exquisite scenery, go hiking and fly fishing, and relax in comfortable accommodations after the on-site masseuse pampers your tired and achy muscles. Hall of Fame Honoree Marlene Eddleman McRae will teach you the lifestyle of the American Cowgirl as you immerse yourself in this exclusive Western experience.
Location: High Mesa Ranch in Red Wing, Colorado
Women 18 and up are welcome to attend
Cost: $3,500 for one woman; $5,000 for two women; $6,000 for three women
Please contact Brittany Bates at 817/336-4475 for registration information
Ranching 101
September 27
Ranching 101 is the perfect introduction to ranch life by taking you inside the inner workings of an actual cattle ranch. Co-hosted with the Cattle Raisers Museum, Ranching 101 activities include a ranch tour, observing ranch hands work cattle, grass identification, roping and tying, brand identification with a Texas Southwestern Cattle Raiser Association Special Ranger, chuck wagon lunch and western music. Spend time with a National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Honoree while enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the ranch. Enrollment is limited to 30 participants.
Location: McFarland Ranch, Aledo, Texas
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: $135/$125 for museum members
Jewelry Making
October 18
Tap into your creative cowgirl. Learn the basics of bead stringing from jewelry artisans Christine Hudson and Amy Moorhouse. Bring your imagination to the beading table and craft your own masterpiece to wear. Hudson and Moorhouse will teach you how to use tools of the trade and share their favorite sources for beads and fabulous findings. Enrollment is limited to 12 participants.
Location: National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
Time: 10 a.m. to noon
Cost: $65/$55 for museum members (includes all supplies)
Chuck Wagon Cooking
December 6
Chuck wagon cooking was something that evolved purely out of basic necessity under difficult circumstances however you might be surprised at the wonderful meals that can be prepared in Old Dutch ovens. Sign up for Cowgirl U’s Chuck Wagon Cooking and be a part of this great piece of Americana and learn from an expert chuck wagon cook who competes avidly in chuck wagon competitions across the Southwest. Enrollment is limited to 20 participants.
Location: Will Rogers Memorial Center Front Lawn on Lancaster St., Fort Worth
Time: 9 a.m. to noon
Cost: $45/$35 for museum members (includes lunch)
About us:
Cowgirl University is a dynamic series of educational programs dedicated to sharing the western lifestyle with a broad audience both inside and outside the museum utilizing the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame’s most important resource, its honorees. Proceeds from Cowgirl University benefit the Museum’s education department.
The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is the only museum in the world dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and a pioneering spirit in their trail blazing efforts. Located in Fort Worth’s Cultural District, the museum includes interactive exhibit galleries, three theaters, a retail store and a grand rotunda. Open Mondays thorough Thursdays 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., admission is $8 for adults ages 13 and up and $7 for children ages 3 to 12. Group rates and docent tours are available. For more information please call 817/336-4475 or 800/476-FAME, or visit www.cowgirl.net.
For images or additional information, contact:
Danny Latham, National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
[email protected] / (817) 509-8991