2006 National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

July 10, 2006

Media Contact: DJ Latham

Office: 817/509-8991

Mobile: 817/715-2868

dlatham@cowgirl.net

FORT WORTH, Texas – The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is proud to announce the 2006 National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Inductees. These five astounding women will be honored during the 31^st Annual Induction Luncheon Ceremony on Thursday, October 26, 2006 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 2006 Inductees are as follows:

*Minnie Lou Bradley*

She was the first women to receive a degree in animal husbandry from Oklahoma State University, formerly known as Oklahoma A&M, and their only female member of the Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Team. She paved a way for young girls to enter into the arena of livestock breeding and management programs. She was the first female president of the American Angus Association and the recipient of numerous awards for her vision and dedication to the improvement of beef cattle. As owner and operator of Bradley 3 Ranch, Bradley implements innovations into her ranching operations that gained her notoriety and recognition as a leader in the beef industry. And in helping share her passion for ranch work, she has partnered with the Ranch Management Program at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas for the past 46 years helping young men and women learn the ranching industry.

*Esther Hobart Morris* /(1814 – 1902)

Esther Hobart Morris, honored in Statuary Hall in Washington D.C. as a women’s suffrage leader, became the United States’ first female justice of the peace in 1870. Her influential efforts achieved the right for women to vote in the Wyoming Territory in 1869. Her triumph there set a course for equality that would not be fully realized in the rest of the United States until 51 years later with the passage of the 19^th Amendment. She was a true pioneer for women.

*Sharon Camarillo*

As an accomplished barrel racer, horsemanship clinician and four-time National Finals Rodeo contender, Camarillo made her mark on rodeo history in 1995 as one of the few select women to ever co-announce the prestigious Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Not only does Camarillo teach horsemanship clinics on barrel racing throughout the year, she wrote an industry-leading book on barrel racing called /Training, Tuning and Winning/.

*Rose Cambra Freitas*

Rose Cambra Freitas represents the best of Hawaiian cowboy or “paniolo” culture through sharing knowledge of western lifestyle with people of all ages. Recognized as one of Maui’s 100 most influential people in the past 100 years, Freitas co-founded the Maui All Girls and Junior Boys and Girls Rodeo Association, Hawaii’s only incorporated non-profit organization of its kind and has earned the respect of community and civic leaders across the island. She and her husband donate their private arena for horse shows and clinics to educate people in horsemanship and have been ranching in Makawao in Maui’s “upcountry” for more than 40 years.

*Bonnie McCarroll */(1897 – 1929)

This a champion bronc rider, made rodeo history in 1922 by winning the cowgirl bronc riding championship at the two most prestigious rodeos in the nation, Cheyenne Frontier Days and the first Madison Square Garden Rodeo. Already an accomplished rodeo performer, McCarroll dazzled kings, queens, dignitaries, an American president and countless rodeo fans across the world. Her tragic death at the 1929 Pendleton Round-Up changed the face of women’s rodeo when rodeo officials began exercising more scrutiny on rules and regulations for women in bronc riding.

“All five of these women set themselves apart from the crowd and distinguished themselves as true pioneers,” said Patricia Riley, executive director of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame honors and documents the lives of women who have distinguished themselves while exemplifying the pioneer spirit of the American West. Located at 1720 Gendy Street in Fort Worth’s Cultural District, the museum includes interactive exhibit galleries, three theaters, a retail store and a grand rotunda housing the Hall of Fame. The museum is open seven days a week – Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to

5:30 p.m. Please visit www.cowgirl.net or call 817/336-4475 or 800/476-FAME (3263) for more information on admission, special exhibits and events.

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