This story was produced by student reporters as part of the High School Journalism Institute. Sylvia Thorp is a student at Astoria High School, and Ricardo Tuz Aviles is a student at McDaniel High School.
On a sweltering Tuesday morning in July, Morgan Young, 27, leads her horse Lena through their training at the Benton County Fairgrounds. She mounts and begins to ride around the track, Lena kicking up dust along her path as she twists around three barrels. Young is preparing for the Larry Bell Memorial All Girls Rodeo on July 29.
There are not that many opportunities for women to take the spotlight in competitive rodeo. Women from across the Pacific Northwest will travel to Corvallis to compete because it is one of the only all-girls rodeos in the region. Another is the Spring Stampede, which is also held at the Benton County Fairgrounds.
During the Larry Bell Memorial rodeo, women showcase their skills in seven different events, including barrel racing, team roping, and ranch, bronc and bull riding.
Nicole Schrock, the founder of both rodeos, pitched the idea for the Larry Bell Memorial rodeo in 2018 as part of her first-term plans as chair of the Benton County Rodeo Committee. Schrock said she saw the value of women-led spaces partly due to her years as a rodeo queen.
She has held multiple titles and has mentored countless women. Schrock, who plans to compete this year if time allows for it, has experienced firsthand the benefits of including women in more rodeo events.
“Our all-women's rodeos gave me a platform to not only help women in our community but help myself gain that confidence to compete in several events,” Schrock said. “Including team roping, which is something you don't see a lot of women doing on the professional level in the other rodeos outside of our all-women's rodeos.”
The reason you don't see many women in the majority of rodeo events, she said, can be traced in part to the death of a contestant in the 1900s.
A well-known female bronc rider named Bonnie McCarroll was thrown off her horse at the 1929 Pendleton Round-Up in eastern Oregon and later died from her injuries. Female contestants were subsequently banned from participating. Some argued that bronc riding was too dangerous for female competitors and pushed women out of competing in rough stock events nationwide.
Women were only allowed to rejoin the barrel racing event at the Pendleton Round-Up in 2000.
Jessica McLennan, the 2026 Benton County Fair & Rodeo queen, said that she’s inspired by women like Schrock.
“I just think that women-led rodeo is something so important for our youth and the girls to be able to see something that they can pursue and go after,” McLennan, 18, said.
Ashlyn Terry, a 14-year-old competitor, is currently the Philomath Frolic & Rodeo Princess and aspires to become a Benton County Rodeo Queen. She will have to wait four years to be eligible. Though she can't compete for queen yet, she will participate in the all-girls rodeo.
“I've been preparing for this for years,” Ashlyn said. “Being able to be a part of such an amazing rodeo, especially an all-girls rodeo and women's empowerment, is really special.”
Young, a former Benton County Fair & Rodeo queen, balances the work of being a student, a veterinary assistant and a competitor in rodeos around Oregon. She has been rodeoing since childhood and plans to compete in this year’s barrel racing event.
Part of being a rodeo queen is also being an ambassador for the agricultural community and lifestyle. Young said she and others are working hard to promote women in rodeo, as other organizations have been doing to promote women in their respective sports.
“Other industries have done a really good job of promoting them,” she said. “I think women in the sport of rodeo are kind of an untapped area, and I think that it deserves a lot more attention because it is such a hard sport. I mean, it is hardcore.”
Young has been documenting her path to becoming a rodeo professional on her social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Her series called “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” showcases her time behind the scenes on the road.
“I just want to encourage people to chase that dream and that passion, regardless of if it's rodeo or not,” she said. “Even if it's a different sport. What is it that you truly love to do and what is it that you really want to do? And apply yourself — the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
This story was produced by student reporters as part of the High School Journalism Institute, an annual collaboration among The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon State University and other Oregon media organizations. Learn more about the program at OregonLive.com/HSJI.
