03/09/2026
On February 28, 1948, thirty-eight women met at the St. Angelus Hotel in San Angelo, Texas, to form the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA). Established as the first professional sports-sanctioning body for women, the organization was created to ensure fair competition and standardized rules for cowgirls in the rodeo arena. In 1981, the association changed its name to the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), and it remains the oldest women’s professional sports organization in the United States today.
