Lillian Cowan Reynolds

Clover Leaf Pattern Creator 1922 - 2007

Descending from a ranching family that owned and operated the VH Ranch in the Ft. Davis Mountains, Balmorhea and Toyah, Lillian, is being honored today for innovating the cloverleaf pattern barrel race at a time when there were no timed events for women. The origination of the cloverleaf barrel race has long been claimed by The West of the Pecos Rodeo, but few know it was Lillian that originated it, creating an event that tested both rider and horse in speed and agility. The year was 1944, and the Cloverleaf Barrel Race (now known as the Cloverleaf Classic) became a regular event at Pecos, and is currently the standard for barrel racing everywhere. A charter member of the Girls Rodeo Association and the Rodeo Cowboys Association as well as a Gold Card member of the PRCA, Lillian was a “Glamour Girl” for the rodeos at Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden and worked with the likes of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Ladies, if you wear wranglers, you can thank Lillian for the fit. She was the force behind Wrangler Jeans coming up with jeans for women, working with western clothier “Rodeo Ben” to get the fit right and pitch the idea to Wrangler. Lillian made her last ride in 1954, later becoming an art teacher, artist and writer, working all throughout the Southwest, until her death in 2007.