The National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame
The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame just announced the names of its five newest inductees for 2023. These women will be honored at the 47th annual induction luncheon and ceremony being held on Tuesday, Nov.14, 2023 at Dickies Arena.
These incoming Hall of Fame members represent a wide range of cowgirls, that all have amazing backgrounds and have made substantial achievements in their lives. The 2023 inductees include Mary Fields, Meggan Hill-McQueeney, Annie Reynolds, Gladys Roldán-de-Moras, and Kendra Santos.
Located at 1720 Gendy Street, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame honors and celebrates women, past and present, whose lives exemplify the courage, resilience and independence that helped shape the West, and fosters an appreciation of the ideals and spirit of self-reliance they inspire. Established in 1975, the Museum is considered an invaluable national educational resource for its exhibits, research library and rare photograph collection.
“We are excited to announce the 2023 Hall of Fame Inductees,” says the Museum’s executive director Patricia Riley. “Each year we marvel at the talent, strength and leadership of each of the women chosen, and this year is no exception. Their accomplishments are unparalleled, and they are a great inspiration to all.”
The National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame
Mary Fields was born enslaved in Tennessee in 1832.Post-emancipation, she worked at a convent. She later followed one of the nuns, Mother Amadeus, to Montana where she had set up a school for Indigenous girls in Montana yet had fallen gravely ill. Fields saved the freezing, starving students, by hunting, farming, and hauling medicine and dry goods. In 1895, Mother Amadeus helped Fields receive the contract to drive a stagecoach for the Star Route, a service started by the U.S. Postal Service using contracted workers to protect and deliver mail to places sparsely populated. Fields worked a dangerous 34-mile route for eight years, making her the first Black woman to hold a contract with the postal service.
The National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame
Meggan Hill-McQueeney’s passion for horses led her to competing, ranching, running various horse operations and coaching. She started two successful therapeutic riding programs, serving as a PATH International Master Level Instructor, a Special Olympics Coach, and a USEF Para Olympic Coach. Stepping into the leadership role, in 2010, as President of Brave Hearts Therapeutic Riding and Educational Center, she transformed the organization into the largest horsemanship program for U.S. military veterans in the country. Hill-McQueeney initiated Trail to Zero, overseeing and riding horseback 20-miles with veterans and mounted police units, in major cities across the world, to bring an end to veteran suicide through healing horsemanship.
The National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame
Annie Reynolds is one of the most successful competitors, breeders, and owners in National Reined Cow Horse Association history. She’s made more than $1.75 million in lifetime NRCHA earnings, beginning in 1974. She won the Snaffle Bit Futurity Non-Pro Championship a record eight times, and in 2012, she became an exclusively Open competitor. Not only is she an NRCHA Million Dollar Rider and Hall of Fame Inductee, but Reynolds is also the first female Million Dollar rider and the only competitor to achieve Million Dollar status as a Non-Pro.
The National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame
Gladys Roldán-de-Moras, is known for her paintings that spotlight Spanish and Latino culture. Her talent has landed her work in many private and public permanent collections, in places such as Texas, Arizona, and Mexico. Her artwork has been cited in several publications, such as Southwest Art Magazine, Western Art Collector, and Western Art and Architecture. Roldán-de-Moras has won many awards, including the prestigious Frederick Remington Painting Award at the 2023 Prix de West Invitational Art Sale & Exhibition at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
The National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame
Kendra Santos comes from a four-generation rodeo family and has dedicated her life and career to journalism within rodeo and western culture. Santos served as the first-ever Professional Bull Riders Editor-in-Chief and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Director of Communications. This PRCA and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association Media Award Winner takes great pride in elevating journalism in and around rodeo, with particular emphasis on representing the authentic voices of the cowboys and cowgirls. Santos is most proud of being mom to her two cowboy sons, Lane and Taylor.
These Inductees will join over 247 cowgirls in the Hall of Fame. The Museum proudly celebrates living and deceased Honorees who represent diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. Many of the Honorees are nationally and internationally recognized artists or writers, champions and competitive performers, entertainers, ranchers or trailblazers and pioneers.
The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is open Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–5p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m.–5 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults (12+); $9 for seniors (65+); $6 for children (ages 4-11); and free for children 3 and under with paid admission.
