Nominations are now being accepted for the 2026 Cowgirl of the Year Award
Written nominations for the award must be received by the CPRA no later than September 1st, 2026. The nominations should be as detailed as possible, establishing how the candidate has performed in each of the categories. Only those candidates for whom a written nomination has been received shall be considered by the selection committee. The candidate may be a current or retired member, provided they held a full membership card during their competitive years.
Please send nominations to:
Attention: Patty Auger, Director of Finance
Email: pauger@rodeocanada.com
The eligible nominees must meet the following criteria before nomination:
- Must be competing member past or present in the Ladies Barrel Racing (major event) and/or Ladies Breakaway (non-major event).
- The nominee (current/past) is in good standing with the CPRA meaning no outstanding balances to the association.
- Full card holder (current/past).
Judging criteria for the nominee as follows:
Professional CFR qualifications and/or event accomplishments.
- Have they demonstrated outstanding ability in their Rodeo discipline?
- Do they work more than one event?
- Please provide a bullet point list of accomplishments.
Sportsmanship
- Do they accept victory and defeat as a pro and how do they treat their fellow competitors?
- Is their social media presence positive and productive towards the association, its directors and rodeo committees alike?
- Do they help others – be they beginners or veterans?
- Do they try to support their event and/or the association for the betterment of the sport?
Contributions to the betterment of rodeo and development of the sport; in what ways have they worked to improve rodeo:
- Promotion of Rodeo?
- Have they served on the board of directors and been helpful to their event director?
- Does the nominee give back to the sport in other ways outside of CPRA?
- Have they, in short, extended themselves for the good of rodeo, without consideration of immediate rewards or gain?
- Have they been a consistent ambassador for rodeo?
In short, the nomination of your nominee should clearly state why said person is eligible for consideration for Cowgirl of the Year. What makes this person stand out from the other nominees whether it is inside or outside of the arena and the association. Please remember this is a competitor-based award. The nominee must have competed in 1 of the 2 ladies’ events past or present.
The selection committee will be made up of 5 individuals and will be as follows:
- Award founder
- Current Ladies Barrel Racing Director
- 3 previous award recipients.
In addition, once a nominee has been selected by the committee a request will be made to the nominator for electronic copies of digital media, please note that photo copyrights must have been purchased with any photos taken by professional photographers. These will assist in creation of the presentation for the winner. The award recipient will remain confidential until the Night of Champions.
We look forward to receiving your nominations for this award and recognizing the individuals who have made meaningful contributions to the sport of rodeo and the continued growth of our ladies’ events. We are proud to honor our past award recipients and recognize the passion, commitment, and dedication they have brought to our sport.
* Download Cowgirl of the Year Nomination Information (PDF format)
* Download Cowgirl of the Year Nomination Information (Microsoft Word)