Held in conjunction with Art of The Cowgirl, the World’s Greatest Horsewoman competition is Patterned off the World’s Greatest Horseman event held during the NRCHA Celebration of Champions, the World’s Greatest Horsewoman competition is held annually in conjunction with Art of The Cowgirl.
Horsewomen from across the country competed in four events — herd work, rein work, steer stopping and cow work — then the top 10 finals move on to vie for the title.
This year it was Patty Pollard Ralls who earned that title, showing a very special horse, Solano Cat.
Advancing to finals on January 17 with the top preliminary score of 584, Ralls and Solano Cat, a horse her husband trained from the get go, then racked up 144.5 in the rein work and another 149.5 down the fence for a total of 878, the win, and $3,870.
A son of High Brow Cat owned by Hershel and Shannon Reid, of Pilot Point, Texas, Solano Cat was trained by Patty’s husband Ron Ralls (a 2X World’s Greatest Horseman title holder) from the get go, she says.
“It was awesome that I got to show a horse near and dear to us,” Patty says. “I could cry telling you about it - he’s amazing. ... That horse just loves the spotlight, he loves it. He will go as long as his body will allow, and hopefully it’s a long time.”
On Tuesday’s installment of Western Sports Round-Up, Patty talked all about Solano Cat, their experience at the event, the fierce (and cordial) competition, her cowgirl roots, her bright pink hat, and more.
