Faye Blackstone

Faye Blackstone (June 3, 1915 – August 30, 2011) was an American rodeo star, performer, and elected member of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. She was known for having a hand in the starting the female sport of rodeo Barrel Racing.

Early life Blackstone was born Fayetta June Hudson in Diller, Nebraska, in 1915. She self-taught herself to perform tricks on horses after watching a woman handle a flailing bronco when she was eight years old.

Blackstone also turned her equestrian talents towards the sport of barrel racing in its beginning. She, along with others such as Dixie Reger Mosley and Wanda Harper Bush, were active in barrel racing in its founding. Blackstone and other cowgirls began a barrel racing event in Florida in 1950.

Blackstone and Vic performed trick riding together throughout the United States during the 1940s and 1950s. the same year that her husband was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame. The Blackstones became the namesakes of Blackstone Park in Palmetto, Florida.

Faye Blackstone died in Bradenton, Florida, aged 96, from cancer, on August 30, 2011. Her husband died in 1987.