Американская ковбойша: жизнь и судьба Конни Ривз

American cowgirl

Connie Douglas Reeves (September 26, 1901 – August 17, 2003) was believed to be America's oldest cowgirl. She was the oldest member of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, and one of the first women to study law at a University of Texas School of Law. One of Reeves most notable quotes was "Always saddle your own horse", which Liz Smith once suggested in her gossip column was "not a bad motto, even if you are just getting into your Mercedes."

Reeves was born in Eagle Pass, Texas to William and Ada ( Wallace) Douglas. She received her undergraduate degree in speech from Texas Woman's University. She enrolled in the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, but was forced to withdraw and get a job to help her family during the hard economic times of the Great Depression. Reeves taught at Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, where she started the "Lassos", the first girl’s drill team or pep squad which is still active. She also worked part time as a riding instructor at a local stable. She grew up around horses and was quoted as saying that she sat on a horse before she could sit up by herself. In 1936, she joined the equestrian program at Camp Waldemar in Hunt where she taught horseback riding to girls for 67 years. Reeves met her husband Jack at the camp and the couple married in 1942. They also managed of ranch land owned by former President Lyndon B. Johnson where they raised sheep and cattle for more than forty years. Jack Reeves died in 1985.

On August 5, 2003, Reeves was riding her favorite horse Dr Pepper, a spirited 28 year old paint. According to a report by camp director, Meg Clark, the horse threw Reeves over its head. She suffered a broken neck from the fall, but was not paralyzed. Her autobiography, I Married a Cowboy: Half Century with Girls & Horses at Camp Waldemar, was published in 1995. Her motto was, "Always saddle your own horse."