Wikipedia

Isabella Miller (barrel racer)

Isabella Miller (28 January 1941 – 26 January 2007) was a Canadian rodeo cowgirl, rancher and horse trainer. She was the Canadian barrel racing Champion in 1960 and 1969 and was a 5-time winner of the Canadian All-Around women's title. She was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2005.

Isabella Miller
Black and white photograph of a woman in a cowboy hat and large print shirt riding a horse in a barrel racing competition.
Miller in 1969
Born
Pearl Isabella Hamilton

(1941-01-28)28 January 1941
Alberta, Canada
Died26 January 2007(2007-01-26) (aged 65)
Maricopa, Arizona
Other namesIsabella Hamilton Miller, Isabella Miller Haraga
Occupation(s)rancher, horse trainer, rodeo performer
Years active1957–2007
Spouse
​
(m. 2002)​
Children3

Early life

edit

Pearl Isabella Hamilton was born on 28 January 1941 in Alberta, Canada to Ruth (née Johnson) and William James Hamilton.[1][2] She grew up in DeWinton, Alberta, where her parents operated a ranch.[2] Her father had been a bull riding champion in the 1920s and was a chuckwagon driver. Her grandparents manufactured Red River carts in Calgary.[3] Hamilton began learning to ride when she was 2 years old.[4]

Hamilton was one of the founders of the Canadian Girls' Barrel Racing Association, which formed in 1957 and was elected as the organization's president for 1959.[1][5] The goal of the association was to promote women's participation in rodeo and to be allowed to compete in the Calgary Stampede and other regular rodeo events.[6][7] From 1958, they won the right to participate in the Stampede.[8][9]

Competitive career

edit

In 1960, Hamilton won the Canadian Barrel Racing Championship, having owned, trained, and ridden her own horse.[10][11] Around 1962, she married and began competing as Isabella Miller.[12] She won the women's All-Around title five times — in 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969.[13][14] In 1963, she was also named as Calgary's Athlete of the Year by the Calgary Sports Women's Association.[4] Despite a vehicle accident in which her horse died during the 1969 season, Miller repeated that year as Canadian barrel racing champion.[3][14][11]

Miller raised three children, Tyler, Bobbie June, and Billie Ruth Miller, as a single mother and to make ends meet, drove a school bus for 15 years.[1] As she made little money from barrel racing, she also raised horses, trained them, and worked as a stunt rider in films. She continued to compete in barrel racing events into her 60s and was often ranked among Canada's the top ten women in the sport.[9][15][16] In the early 1980s, she became president of the barrel racing association for a second term, serving from 1981 to 1986.[6][17] In 2002, she married Arnold Haraga, a former Canadian All-Around champion and steer wrestler and sculptor.[8][18] After their marriage, the couple wintered at their ranch in Arizona.[9] She was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2005.[9][11]

Death and legacy

edit

In 2007, Haraga was injured in a fall from her horse on her ranch in Maricopa, Arizona. The fall caused an aneurysm[8] and Haraga died two days later on 26 January 2007.[1][9] Her children and grandchildren have continued the tradition of competing in rodeo events.[19]

References

edit

Citations

edit
  1. ^ a b c d The Calgary Herald 2007, p. 20.
  2. ^ a b Western Wheel 2018.
  3. ^ a b French 1969, p. 41.
  4. ^ a b Hehr 1964, p. 26.
  5. ^ Primrose 1958, p. 46.
  6. ^ a b Priegert 1982, p. G1.
  7. ^ Kossowan 1998, p. A2.
  8. ^ a b c Cowboy Country Television 2008.
  9. ^ a b c d e Erickson 2007, p. E8.
  10. ^ The Calgary Herald 1960, p. 24.
  11. ^ a b c Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame 2005.
  12. ^ McLean 1962, p. 47.
  13. ^ The Province 1969, p. 45.
  14. ^ a b The Red Deer Advocate 1969, p. 7.
  15. ^ Kossowan 1998, pp. A1–A2.
  16. ^ Summerfield 2000, p. SE2.
  17. ^ Rule Book 2017, p. 3.
  18. ^ Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame 2013.
  19. ^ Kossowan 1998, p. A1.

Bibliography

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Isabella_Miller_(barrel_racer)&oldid=1254092065"