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=Bertha Blancett=

General information
Bertha Kaepernick Blancett was born on September 4th, 1883, in Cleveland, Ohio. She died on July 3rd, 1979, at age 96. Blancett grew up on a Colorado ranch and started riding horses at the age of five. She pioneered women’s competitions and came to be called “the most famous woman rider in rodeo.” Entering a male-dominated field, she became a renowned legend in the equestrian field.

Career
Her career began when she entered a rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming, called the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, also called “The Daddy” she entered in 1904 at the age of 21. She entered as both a Bronc rider and a Roman racer (meaning she stood astraddle on two horses at once.) She had few peers in her age range doing the same work as her, paving the path for future women in her field. During four decades, she won numerous bucking horse championships. Three awards at the Pendleton competition in just four years: 1911-1914 in the categories of Saddle Bronc Rider and Steer Roper. In 1975, at age 92, she was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame. Later, after her marriage, she became a film actress!

Personal Life
Bertha was born in Ohio to William and Federico Kaepernick and moved to Atwood, Colorado, at age 3. Sister to William Albert Kaepernick, Frank C Kaepernick, Charles Kaepernick, Carrie Kaepernick, and Mary Kaepernick. Bertha’s parents were a family of immigrants from Germany, starting a ranch in the 1880s. Bertha’s father was the one who encouraged her to learn how to ride; he had her riding a horse at a very young age. After her success at Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, Bertha left home in 1906 and joined Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show; she rode male professional horses and performed audience shows for the public. She did this practice until 1909, and then she finally decided to leave and engage with less performance work. After her few years working in Pawnee Bill’s, she entered into the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Show. Joining the Ranch Show changed her life as she met her future husband, Dell Blancett, changing her name from Bertha Kaepernick to Bertha Kaepernick Dell Blancett. Dell was also a renowned figure in the equestrian field; he was known as the World Champion Bull Dogger, the second man ever to receive this title, the first being Bill Pickett. After they got married, Bertha and Dell moved to California where, with her husband, she worked in films under contract to Bison Pictures. Between movies, she competed at rodeo venues.

Retirement
Bertha’s career came to a halt when her husband, Dell Blancett, died in a battle during World War I. She was so fearful of his original plan to join the army that she threatened to file for divorce. Dell was fortunately rejected by the U.S. army, but Bertha was soon to be hurt again as he moved and joined the Canadian army instead. While on a mission stationed in Europe, Dell was killed in action. After mourning Dell, she never remarried, and around the age of 50, she retired to Portersville, California, and lived there until she died at age 96. She never went back to the rodeo after Dell died but took some jobs in the film industry to make ends meet. She also was part of the attendants for the rodeo in her later years and was in charge of running parts of the bronc shows and assisting the riders. She still did several interviews with magazines about her days in the rodeo.

By about age fifty, Bertha retired to her new home in Porterville, California where she lived the rest of her life, until her death at age ninety-six. She took odd jobs to help pay the bills, but never forgot her days as a rodeo star. (She was interviewed on several occasions about those early days.) ​​ Dell Blanchett volunteered to fight in WWI in a Canadian Cavalry unit. Bertha was against his decision to go to the war to the point where she filed for divorce. But ten days later, her husband was killed in the battle near Bois de Moreui. It was sabers against machine guns. Dell Blanchett was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. Bertha never remarried or performed in a rodeo after his death. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the age of 90.

Awards and Hall of Fame
Bertha was the first woman to hazer in bulldogging events. She won the World Championship Ladies’ Relay Race in 1911, 1912, and 1913. World’s Ladies Bronc Riding Championship in 1914 and 1915. World’s Ladies Championship Roman Race in 1918. She also competed and won at Pendleton, Calgary, Cheyenne, and many more.

Bertha was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1975. She was again inducted in the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 1999 as a Cowgirl Honoree. References and Citations

https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/collections/awards/rodeo-hall-of-fame/inductees/5079/

https://www.cowgirl.net/portfolios/betha-blancett/

https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/archive/Mrs--Bertha-Blancett--winner-of-ladies-relay-race--the-Stampede--Calgary--Alta---1912-2R3BF11DMGW.html

https://cowgirlmagazine.com/cowgirl-iconic-bertha-kaepernik-blancett/

https://www.geni.com/people/Bertha-Blanchett/6000000158489496823

https://travelhummingbirds.wordpress.com/2016/11/18/cheyenne-frontier-days-part-iv/

https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1O167F5

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/data/batches/oru_humbug_ver02/data/sn88086023/00295868478/1922092102/0971.pdf

https://prezi.com/6cwydv3gyqfd/bertha-kaepernik-blancett/

https://www.aaalivestock.com/cowboy-heroes-47/