Mabel Strickland Woodward (1897 – January 3, 1976) is a hall of fame rodeo performer who competed in several events and who was inducted into several halls of fame.

Early life

Woodward was born Mabel DeLong in 1897 near

Wallula, Washington Wallula () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 179 at the 2010 census. History The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached this area April 27, 1806, on their return journey from the P ...

, to a shoeshop owner and his wife. Since being introduced to horses at age 3 by her father, she trained on them consistently thereafter. She had a natural ability with horses. A nearby trick rider named Bill Donovan trained her. In 1913, she entered the Walla Walla Stampede and won the

trick riding Trick riding refers to the act of performing stunts while horseback riding, such as the rider standing upright on the back of a galloping horse, using a specially designed saddle with a reinforced steel horn, and specialized kossak loops for h ...

three years in a row, from 1913 to 1915. She then joined Drumhellers Wild West Productions. When rodeo champion Hugh Strickland met her, he found her to be a petite and attractive woman. In 1918, they were married. They had one daughter.

Career

Starting in 1916, Woodward competed in professional rodeo, with men, for 25 years. She competed in every event except bulldogging, or

steer wrestling Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing its horns and pulling it off-balance so that it falls ...

as it is known today. One year at

Cheyenne Frontier Days Cheyenne Frontier Days is an outdoor rodeo and western celebration in the United States, held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It bills itself as the "World's Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration." The event, claimed to be one of ...

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

, she won the

all-around The All-Around is an award given to a rodeo competitor who is most successful in two or more events. Most individual rodeos and championships determine the winner of this award at the conclusion of the other events or championships. Championship ...

title. The next year after that, she came back to Cheyenne and won every event she entered. She also performed

, winning many events, and even making several appearances at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

Honors

* 1971

Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame The Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame, is a hall of fame located in Pendleton, Oregon, United States. Begun in 1969, it was the first hall of fame started by an individual show, the Pendleton Round-Up. Exhibits focus on show mem ...

* 1981

Rodeo Hall of Fame The Rodeo Hall of Fame was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1955. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of cowboys and cowgirls from around the world. The ha ...

of the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...

* 1992

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneering fortitude. The museum is an educ ...

* 2002 Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame * 2020

Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame The Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame is a cowboy hall of fame. The hall of fame for the Ellensburg Rodeo was established in 1997. The hall of fame writes a biography for each inductee in a permanent file. It also collects and stores inductee rodeo ...

Death and legacy

Woodward died in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, near her home of

Buckeye, Arizona Buckeye is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is the westernmost suburb in the Phoenix metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census the population was 91,502, up from 50,876 in 2010 and 6,537 in 2000. It was the fastest-growin ...

, where she had lived for the last 27 years. She died on Saturday, January 3, 1976. She had moved there with her second husband, Samuel Woodward. At the time of her death, she was the director of the

Appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's colo ...

Horse Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, Mabel Strickland 1897 births 1976 deaths Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductees Trick riding Trick roping Roping (rodeo) Bronc riders All-Around Sportspeople from Washington (state) People from Buckeye, Arizona