Cowgirl Flare: Performance team uses only Paint horses

By JULIET BRISKIN | Staff writer

Joanna Spencer, a member of the Catalena Cowgirls performance team carries the oversized American flag, complete with firework-shooting pole, while aboard a galloping Paint horse. The Cowgirls are part of the Sammy Catalena Rodeo Company. Catalena's Paint horses are also the sole breed used during Six Flags' Wild West show. -- Courtesy photo

July 29, 2004 - Sammy Catalena knows all too well that the rodeo business is as much about sport as it is about entertainment and when his Catalena Cowgirls burst into an area atop their American Paint horses, the crowd is in for one spectacular show. Riding at break-neck speeds and carrying oversized flags spewing fireworks, this group of beautiful and talented women have made a name for themselves around the globe and have come a long way from the Cowgirls' rather benign origin.

In 1994, after years of producing and providing stock for rodeos, Catalena recognized the need to have a permanent group of riders to open his rodeos. "In the past we would just get some barrel racers or some of the local girls to carry the flags for us," he explained. "That started to get harder all the time so we decided to get some riders that were with us all the time."

Just as the sport of rodeo has evolved, so has the Cowgirls. "We saw a real need to add some color and pageantry to the rodeos," said Catalena. "The Cowgirls have been the avenue we took to add that color and pageantry. Each year we have added a few more horses and a few more girls. The costuming has become more elaborate and we have added pyrotechnics to the show."

Today the Catalena Cowgirls is one the premiere drill teams in the world and have performed at all the major Texas rodeos, the Symphony of Horses in Illinois, the 2001 Olympic Torch Ceremony in Houston and the World Championship Bull Riding Series. Each year the Cowgirls and their horses travel with the Sammy Catalena Rodeo Company to the islands of Aruba and Curacao as part of the company's Wild West Show.

The Cowgirls all have careers or are full-time students and they volunteer their time for practices and performances. They range in age from 21 to 40 and currently there are about 27 riders that serve as the core performers. All the horses, equipment, and uniforms are owned by the Sammy Catalena Rodeo Company, based in Bryan, and the choreography is done by Sammy's brother Pete Catalena.

"When we are on the road we pay for the hotels and some of their meals," Catalena explained. "They also get a nominal fee for performances, but let me tell you, that wouldn't even pay for their gas. These girls do this because they take pride in what they do and they love what they do."

Since the drill team's inception they have always ridden Paint horses and they too have become famous. "We've never had the girls ride anything but the Paint horses," asserted Catalena. "We have a lot of other horses, but the Paint horse is the best one for what I wanted to present out there. The way they look, their disposition and their athletic ability creates the perfect package. I just love the Paint horse."

According to Catalena, the horses are almost completely trained by the riders and they try to rotate horse-and-rider so that everyone can ride every horse. "This helps guarantee versatility," he stated. "No matter what happens or who is available for a performance, they can ride any of our horses and all the horses are used to different riders."

The versatility and skills of the Paint horses used by the Cowgirls goes well beyond just running drills.

"We've done some things off our Paint horses that people have said can't be done off any horse," said Catalena. "For example, in our National Anthem salute we have one rider, Joanna Spencer, that carries an American Flag that measures 6-foot by 10-foot and shoots fireworks out the top."

The American Paint Horse Association (APHA) and Six Flags Over Texas, at Arlington, are huge fans of Catalena's horses. For the past three years the Rangers and Outlaws show at Six Flags, sponsored by the APHA, has used Catalena's Paint horses exclusively.

"One of the reasons Six Flags loves our horses so much is because there isn't anything they are going to ask them to do that they haven't already experienced," stated Catalena. "When you do as many shows as these horses do each year, they are prepared for anything."