For the past decade, Magnolia-based riding group Lone Star Cowgirls has been part of the rodeo scene and has entertained crowds year-round across Texas.
In 2006, Valerie Cranford and her sister, Cat Hammers, started the drill team as a group of four women who rode American paint horses and performed choreography set to music. The sisters co-direct each performance; Cranford choreographs the routines and Hammers designs the group’s costumes.
Lone Star Cowgirls was founded in 2006 and performs in shows across the state year-round.[/caption]“We started going to competitions and parades, and it’s just grown since then,” Cranford said. “Now we travel all over Texas still riding the paint horses and still wearing our red, white and blue costumes.”
The team has grown to include about eight to 12 women per year, and each rider trains extensively before a performance, Cranford said.
“The girls have to have a good relationship with the horse that they’re riding,” she said. “They have to have coordination and ability to make these maneuvers work.”
The group participates in annual events in Montgomery County, including the Go Texan parade and the Montgomery County Fair.
The group’s most popular performance is set to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Cranford said.
“We do pyrotechnics with the national anthem, and it’s really something quite special,” Cranford said. “It brings a tear to a lot of people’s eyes.”
Riders train throughout the year with paint horses.[/caption]Riders train throughout the year with paint horses.
