Nan Jeanne Aspinwall Gable Lambell (February 2, 1880 in New York – October 24, 1964) was the first woman to ride on horseback across North America alone. She rode from San Francisco to New York from September 1, 1910, arriving on July 8, 1911 on a bet from

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

, whose Wild West show she performed in with her husband. She rode her

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

, Lady Ellen, on the journey. She was born in New York under the name Nan Jeanne Aspinwall. She performed as an oriental dancer as well as a horsewoman, sharpshooter, and roper. She also had a vaudeville act with her husband.

Recognition

The actress Penny Edwards appeared as Nan Gable in the 1958 episode, "Two-Gun Nan," of the syndicated

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

''. In the story line, sharpshooter Nan, affiliated with

William F. Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

Wild West Show Wild West shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that existed around 1870–1920. The shows began as theatrical stage productions and evolved into open-air shows that depicted romanticized stereotypes of c ...

, sets out on a daring thoroughbred horse ride from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to prove that a woman could undertake such a task, which required 180 days. Robert "Buzz" Henry (1931-1971) played her husband, Frank Gable, and William O'Neal (1898-1961) was cast as Cody. Still living in 1958, Nan Gable appeared with series host

Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...

at the conclusion of the episode. Two Gun Nan aged 78

A book about her life was published in 2007.

Bibliography

References

1880 births 1964 deaths American female equestrians Sportspeople from New York City {{US-equestrian-bio-stub