Isabella Miller (28 January 1941 – 26 January 2007) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

cowgirl, rancher and

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

. She was the Canadian

barrel racing Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur a ...

Champion in 1960 and 1969 and was a 5-time winner of the Canadian All-Around women's title. She was inducted into the

Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame The Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame (CPRHF) was founded in 1979 to honour and distinguish outstanding contestants, builders, and animals in the Canadian rodeo arena. Inductees are qualified by the Canadian Rodeo Historical Association. The C ...

in 2005.

Early life

Pearl Isabella Hamilton was born on 28 January 1941 in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada to Ruth (née Johnson) and William James Hamilton. She grew up in DeWinton, Alberta, where her parents operated a

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

. Her father had been a

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To recei ...

champion in the 1920s and was a

chuckwagon A chuckwagon is a type of field kitchen covered wagon historically used for the storage and transportation of food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada. Such wagons formed part of a wagon train of settlers or fed ...

driver. Her grandparents manufactured

Red River cart The Red River cart is a large two-wheeled cart made entirely of non-metallic materials. Often drawn by oxen, though also by horses or mules, these carts were used throughout most of the 19th century in the fur trade and in westward expansion in Ca ...

s in Calgary. Hamilton began learning to ride when she was 2 years old. Hamilton was one of the founders of the Canadian Girls' Barrel Racing Association, which formed in 1957 and was elected as the organization's president for 1959. The goal of the association was to promote women's participation in rodeo and to be allowed to compete in the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

and other regular rodeo events. From 1958, they won the right to participate in the Stampede.

Competitive career

In 1960, Hamilton won the Canadian

Barrel Racing Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur a ...

Championship, having owned, trained, and ridden her own horse. Around 1962, she married and began competing as Isabella Miller. She won the women's All-Around title five times — in 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969. In 1963, she was also named as Calgary's Athlete of the Year by the Calgary Sports Women's Association. Despite a vehicle accident in which her horse died during the 1969 season, Miller repeated that year as Canadian barrel racing champion. Miller raised three children, Tyler, Bobbie June, and Billie Ruth Miller, as a single mother and to make ends meet, drove a school bus for 15 years. As she made little money from barrel racing, she also raised horses, trained them, and worked as a stunt rider in films. She continued to compete in barrel racing events into her 60s and was often ranked among Canada's the top ten women in the sport. In the early 1980s, she became president of the barrel racing association for a second term, serving from 1981 to 1986. In 2002, she married Arnold Haraga, a former Canadian All-Around champion and steer wrestler and sculptor. After their marriage, the couple wintered at their ranch in Arizona. She was inducted into the

in 2005.

Death and legacy

In 2007, Haraga was injured in a fall from her horse on her ranch in

Maricopa, Arizona Maricopa is a city in the Gila River Valley in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. With 62,720 residents as of 2021, Maricopa is the largest incorporated municipality in Pinal County History Maricopa has had three locations over the years: ...

. The fall caused an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (s ...

and Haraga died two days later on 26 January 2007. Her children and grandchildren have continued the tradition of competing in rodeo events.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Isabella All-Around Canadian barrel racers Canadian female equestrians Horse trainers Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductees 1941 births 2007 deaths Sportspeople from Alberta 20th-century Canadian women 20th-century Canadian people