Isora DeRacy Young

Calf Roper, Barrel Racer, & 1936 West of the Pecos Rodeo Queen
1905-2012

Isora was born in 1905 and was reared by her parents, Homer and Catherine Johnson, on a ranch south of Pecos, Texas.  From the time that she could walk, she was riding and roping. She was often referred to as the "boy" of the family.  Isora once told a reporter that she would rather rope than eat.

          As a young lady, Isora married Mr. DeRacy.  She had a steady job at the Reeves County Sheriff's Department in Pecos and was tending to her baby daughter, thus she could not rodeo too far from Pecos.  After her daughter became older, Isora hit the road, roping from Indiana, Michigan and many, many places in between.  Her traveling partner was often Jewel Frost Duncan (2004 TRHoF Inductee), also from the Pecos area.  Back then cowgirls did not compete, they performed.  There was no formal rodeo competition for women so, women participated under “contract”.  Two of the well-known producers that Isora signed on with were Colonel Jim Eskew and Milt Hinkle.  

          In 1939, Isora met and later married I.W. ‘Dub’ Young and they hit the rodeo trail together.  Many honors came Isora’s way from winning against the men to being chosen West of the Pecos Rodeo Queen in 1936.  She was also inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1979.

          The Youngs later bought a ranch in South Dakota and stayed there for several years.  The couple then moved back to Texas, buying a place out of Flourney.  Isora took pleasure in sharing her rodeo stories and died at the age of 107 on May 30, 2012, in Fort Worth, Texas.  She was promoted as one of only two cowgirl calf ropers in the world in the early 1930s.  Isora was posthumously inducted into the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame.