Connie Douglas Reeves
Encyclopedia
Connie Douglas Reeves was the oldest member of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
, and one of the first women to study law at a Texas
law school.
Reeves was born in Eagle Pass, Texas
. 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 the economic conditions of the Great Depression
forced her to withdraw and seek work to help her family. Reeves taught high school in San Antonio
and worked part time as a riding instructor at a local stable. She had always been 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
. It is estimated that she taught 30,000 girls how to ride at the camp.
Reeves met her husband Jack at the camp and the couple married in 1942. They managed a 10000 acres (40.5 km²) sheep and cattle
ranch
for more than forty years when camp was not in session. Jack Reeves died in 1985.
She was elected to the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1997, and rode in the parade to honor the Hall when it moved to new headquarters in Fort Worth
in 2002. She was over 100 years old at the time.
In 2003, Reeves died from injuries suffered when she was thrown from her horse. She had been injured several times in the last few years of her life, including having been kicked by the same horse, resulting in a fractured thigh.
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."
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is a museum and association which honors women of the American West who have displayed courage or spirit and who have distinguished themselves while exemplifying the pioneer spirit...
, and one of the first women to study law at a Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
law school.
Reeves was born in Eagle Pass, Texas
Eagle Pass, Texas
Eagle Pass is a city in and the county seat of Maverick County The population was 27,183 as of the 2010 census.Eagle Pass borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, which is to the southwest and across the Rio Grande. The Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras Metropolitan Area is one of six...
. She received her undergraduate degree in speech from Texas Woman's University
Texas Woman's University
Texas Woman's University is a co-educational university in Denton, Texas, United States with two health science center branches in Dallas, Texas and Houston, Texas...
. She enrolled in the University of Texas School of Law
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law, also known as UT Law, is an ABA-certified American law school located on the University of Texas at Austin campus. The law school has been in operation since the founding of the University in 1883. It was one of only two schools at the University when it was...
in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, but the economic conditions of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
forced her to withdraw and seek work to help her family. Reeves taught high school in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
and worked part time as a riding instructor at a local stable. She had always been 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
Hunt, Texas
Hunt is an unincorporated town in western Kerr County, Texas. It is located in the heart of the Texas hill country . The settlement was originally named Japonica; it was later changed to Hunt when Alva Joy purchased land in the area from Bob Hunt and established a US Post Office on the site...
. It is estimated that she taught 30,000 girls how to ride at the camp.
Reeves met her husband Jack at the camp and the couple married in 1942. They managed a 10000 acres (40.5 km²) sheep and cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
for more than forty years when camp was not in session. Jack Reeves died in 1985.
She was elected to the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1997, and rode in the parade to honor the Hall when it moved to new headquarters in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
in 2002. She was over 100 years old at the time.
In 2003, Reeves died from injuries suffered when she was thrown from her horse. She had been injured several times in the last few years of her life, including having been kicked by the same horse, resulting in a fractured thigh.
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."