FOCUS ON TEXAS

Cowgirls
By Ashley Clary

Move over, Annie Oakley! Texas boasts cowgirls from way up yonder to down below. Y’all forked over such a heap of wonderful pictures depicting cowgirls of yesterday, today and tomorrow that many treasures got left up the spout after deciding on our finalists. Thanks for showing us how the West really was won.

Sisters Bijou, Bliss and Bianca Taylor, ages 16, 7 and 12, share not only the close bond of sisterhood, but also of being cowgirls. Dad Jeff Taylor of CoServ Electric sent us this family photo.

Three-year-old Gracie Clemons barrels out of the gate during her first rodeo event, mutton bustin’, at the Georgetown Rodeo. This brave little lass is the daughter of Pedernales Electric Cooperative members Rebecca and Bryan Clemons.

Weslaco High School student Mary Noell, 18, is the only female Charro performer with the Mercedes Caballo de Puro Azteca Rancho. She and her Mexican Azteca horse Sofia, shown here performing in the Onion Fest, also have made appearances at the Houston Livestock Show and Rose Bowl Parade. Mary’s parents, Martha and Robert Noell, are affiliated with Magic Valley, Bluebonnet and Pedernales electric cooperatives.

Carrie Kaylor of Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative sent us this action shot of her 14-year-old daughter Brooke Allen Kaylor, who has been rodeoing since the age of 4. Brooke is the current champion break-away roper in Region V Junior High School Rodeo.

A hot July afternoon found cowgirls Laura Trcka, Donna Egenolf and Kathy Mostofi, all Pedernales Electric Cooperative members, cooling off in the windmill trough after a horseback ride. Thanks to Kathy for sending in this “cool” shot.

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Roughin’ It is the topic for our DECEMBER 2009 issue. Send your photo—along with your name, address, daytime phone, co-op affiliation and a brief description—Roughin’ It, Focus on Texas, 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701, before OCTOBER 10. A stamped, self-addressed envelope must be included if you want your entry returned (approximately six weeks). Please do not submit irreplaceable photographs—send a copy or duplicate. We regret that Texas Co-op Power cannot be responsible for photos that are lost in the mail or not received by the deadline. Please note that we cannot provide individual critiques of submitted photos. If you use a digital camera, e-mail your highest-resolution images to focus@texas-ec.org or submit on our website at www.texascooppower.com. (If you have questions about your camera’s capabilities and settings, please refer to the operating manual.)

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