Always a Cowgirl

“Once a cowgirl, always a cowgirl,” smiled Colorado County native Sandra C. Thomas, who was nominated for the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Ft. Worth, Texas. Only four will be inducted in 2023.

Sandra was riding, branding, and rounding up cattle at an early age. She accompanied her father Ralph “Rusty” Thomas of Eagle Lake to cattle auctions and participated in the well-known Thomas and Clipson rodeos around the state from age 8.

She was in competitions of barrel racing, breakaway roping, goat tie-down, pole-bending, ribbon-racing, and reining contests. At age 12 she was named the Texas State Championship High School Rodeo Queen in Hallettsville. At 13 she was named the National Championship High School Rodeo Queen, and at 18 she won the title of Global Collegiate Rodeo Queen held at the University of Texas that year, where she was a freshman. These competitions were based upon horsemanship, riding, and reining. “It was my horse who won,” she confides.

Sandra supported several college level equestrian programs in her professional work in higher education. She believes that “any young person could benefit from the skills of horsemanship,” and encourages participation.

She has studied not only the Texas cowboy and cowgirl, but also became interested in their predecessors, the South American Gauchos. With her equine interests she traveled to South America for on-site studies with a Field Research Foundation, and observed daily life and rode with the gauchos of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, along with the Huasos of Chile. She returned several times visiting sheep ranches and historic ranches of the Pampas. She also rode with the vaqueros in Mexico and the paniolo of Hawaii.

While Sandra’s fondest memories were from the prairie ranches near Eagle Lake, her wide-ranging equestrian and ranch experiences have broadened her vision of the history and importance of the American cowboy. “I carry daily all that I learned as a Texas cowgirl.’

She graciously accepts her title as a “Cowgirl of the Americas,” with a nod and a smile.