OklahomaHorses Magazine November 2022

November / December 2022 • OklahomaHorses 23 STILLWATER 502 E. 6th Ave Stillwater, OK 74074 405-372-2766 DAVIS 205 South A St Davis, OK 73030 580-369-2354 CLAREMORE 721 W. 6th St. Claremore, OK 74017 918-341-0933 PERRY 205 Gene Taylor Perry, OK 73077 580-336-2168 Come see us for all of your holiday and winter animal needs! COWBOY MADE. COWBOY APPROVED! OKLAHOMA CITY 4320 W Reno Ave (800) 654-6715 EDMOND 1201 S Broadwy (405) 844-4757 girl” on Lucille, but an 1893 Police Gazette story had named Gertrude Petran “a gen- uine and fascinating cowgirl.” So although Lucille wasn’t the first to own the “cowgirl” title, she certainly was the first famous cowgirl. She drew attention to Oklahoma in monumental ways, bringing masses of people — with their wallets — into the territory and later the state. Lassoing Fame Married in 1908, Lucille had a son, Wil- liam, and then divorced. In the 1910s, she began her profitable vaudeville business, Lucille Mulhall and her Westerners. In 1916, she produced her own rodeo, Lucille Mulhall’s Roundup. As a business owner, Lucille elevated females in the entertain- ment world. In 1919, she married Texas rancher and oilman Tom Burnett, whose father had established the 6666 Ranch, recently made popular by the smash hit television series “Yellowstone.” Sources claim that Lucille acted in silent westerns and other moving pictures, making a mil- lion dollars. Lucille made her final public appearance in the 1935 Guthrie ’89ers Day parade. She died on December 22, 1940, in a car accident. In 1975, she was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame, and in 1977, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. Promoters, journalists, and other people branded Lucille with innumerable mon- ikers, including Queen of the West, the First Cowgirl, Queen of the Range, Toast of the West, the Golden Girl of the West, and others. Will Rogers declared her the best horsewoman in America. The only woman to competitively rope steers with men, Lucille became a global sensation. Her career stimulated intrastate commerce and boosted Oklahoma’s tourism industry and economy. Lucille Mulhall was a philanthropist, she made rodeo more humane for animals, and she was instrumental in keeping rodeo alive. “I ride because I like to,” Lucille said. “I rope because it’s fun.” “I ride because I like to,” Lucille said. “I rope because it’s fun.”