The American Rodeo Gallery is closed for renovation. Prosperity Junction will be closed to guests April 8-10. The Museum will be closing at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11 for a special event.
Jane Mayo Bondurant was born January 1, 1937, to a family that ranched near Okemah, Oklahoma.
She began competing in barrel racing, calf roping, team roping, bronc riding and bulldogging at junior rodeos, then joined the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA, now the WPRA) in 1955. Bondurant was the team-tieing champion in 1957, 1958, and 1959, and also won the GRA All-Around in 1959.
Her barrel racing championship at the first National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 1959, followed by two more consecutive barrel-racing championships in 1960 and 1961, made her a legend. Bondurant won all three barrel racing championships on V’s Sandy, her horse bred from Oklahoma Star, Jr. and a Quarter Horse by the name of Adonna. Her hometown of Okemah declared April 23, 1961, “Jane Mayo Day.”
In total, Bondurant competed for 12 years (1949 to 1961) and authored the seminal book Championship Barrel Racing in 1961 to help expand the sport’s popularity. Named to the Wrangler NFR’s list of the “60 Greatest of All Time,” Bondurant has donated several items to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s rodeo collection to help keep the history of rodeo alive. She currently lives in Durant, Oklahoma.
Bio
Jane Mayo Bondurant was born January 1, 1937, to a family that ranched near Okemah, Oklahoma.
She began competing in barrel racing, calf roping, team roping, bronc riding and bulldogging at junior rodeos, then joined the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA, now the WPRA) in 1955. Bondurant was the team-tieing champion in 1957, 1958, and 1959, and also won the GRA All-Around in 1959.
Her barrel racing championship at the first National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 1959, followed by two more consecutive barrel-racing championships in 1960 and 1961, made her a legend. Bondurant won all three barrel racing championships on V’s Sandy, her horse bred from Oklahoma Star, Jr. and a Quarter Horse by the name of Adonna. Her hometown of Okemah declared April 23, 1961, “Jane Mayo Day.”
In total, Bondurant competed for 12 years (1949 to 1961) and authored the seminal book Championship Barrel Racing in 1961 to help expand the sport’s popularity. Named to the Wrangler NFR’s list of the “60 Greatest of All Time,” Bondurant has donated several items to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s rodeo collection to help keep the history of rodeo alive. She currently lives in Durant, Oklahoma.
