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"Pride and Prejudice gets a wacky makeover in this tale of money, marriage and manners set in the Wild West." --page 4 of cover.

Cowgirl's Pride is the story of Jessie who has come home to her ranch. After a disastrous marriage she has come to work her ranch, but she finds many changes in the ranch and the town. Some of these changes are not good. Jessie finds danger and love in her home town

American lore has slighted the cowgirl, although at least one can still be found in nearly every ranching community. Like her male counterpart, she rides and ropes, understands land and stock, and confronts the elements. The writer and photographer Teresa Jordan traveled sixty thousand miles in the American West, talking with more than a hundred authentic cowgirls running ranches and performing in rodeos. The result is a fascinating book that also situates the cowgirl in history and literature. A new preface and updated bibliography have been added to this Bison Book edition.

Updated and revised (first edition, 1977) history of the women of the West, telling of their contributions and describing how they broke convention by ranching, trail-driving, and rodeoing. Extensive bibliography. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

From Jo Monaghan, the Southern-belle-debutant turned Idaho cattlewoman, to Fanny Sperry Steele, the Bucking Horse Champion of the World, the Wild West was populated with untamed women who worked and played as men did in the saddles of their favorite bucking broncos. This book brings together their stories, including their own thoughts about being cowgirls, and archival art that celebrates the Western experience.

When someone says "Cowgirl Up!" it means rise to the occasion, don't give up, and do it all without whining or complaining. And the cowgirls of the early twentieth century did it all, just like the men, only wearing skirts and sometimes with a baby waiting behind the chutes. Women learned to rope and ride out of necessity, helping their fathers, brothers, and husbands with the ranch work. But for some women, it went further than that. They caught the fever of freedom, the thirst for adrenaline, and the thrill of competition, and many started their rodeo careers as early as age fourteen. From Alice and Margie Greenough of Red Lodge, whose father told them “If you can’t ride ’em, walk,” to Jane Burnett Smith of Gilt Edge who sneaked off to ride in rodeos at age eleven, women made wide inroads into the masculine world of rodeo. Montana boasts its share of women who “busted broncs” and broke ranks in the macho world of rodeo during the early to mid-1900s. Cowgirl Up! is the history of these cowgirls, their courage, and their accomplishments.